Here’s the new JMU football commercial (via the athletics department Twitter).

It features a lot of Theo Sherman, the Preseason All-CAA team tackle and four-year starter, and some pretty cool slow-motion action shots that have a certain “300″ feel to them.

JMU will open the 2010 season ranked No. 15 in the Sports Network/Fathead.com Preseason Poll.

Wait. Fathead.com? Sports Network thought it would be a good idea to have “fathead” as part of their poll? Okay, sure, whatever, I guess.

Anyways, the Dukes are No. 15, which is pretty good, considering they ended 2009 un-ranked (though they did win their final four games).

JMU is also thought of as the 15th best team in the country by the other FCS coaches. (For the record, Madison was No. 6 in both preseason polls a year ago.)

As a surprise to absolutely no one, the Colonial Athletic Association is prominently involved in the first edition of the FATHEAD poll, with six teams in the top 25, including four in the top-ten. It’s made even more impressive when you remember that CAA is down to just 10 teams in 2010, after both Northeastern and Hofstra cut their programs. Put another way: 60 percent of the CAA is among the top-16 teams in the country. Which is a convoluted way of saying the CAA is really, really good (if not somewhat top-heavy; looking at you, Rhode Island and Towson!)

Villanova, the defending national champion, is ranked No. 1; William and Mary is No. 4, Richmond No. 6, New Hampshire No. 10 and Delaware No. 16.

Maine also received votes (“No. 34″ in the country), as did UMass, (“No. 39″).

JMU’s schedule now involves these games:

Morehead State (Sep. 4)

at No. 10 Virginia Tech (Sep. 11)

No. 21 Liberty (Sep. 25)

No. 16 Delaware (Oct. 2)

at Towson (Oct. 9)

No. 10 New Hampshire (Oct. 16)

at No. 1 Villanova (Oct. 23)

UMass (Oct. 30)

at No. 6 Richmond (Nov. 6)

No. 4 William & Mary (Nov. 13)

at Maine (Nov. 20)

It’s just a preseason poll, and obviously a lot can change between now and then, but as it stands now, six of JMU’s 11 games will be against a team ranked in the top-25 (which doesn’t include the trip to Blacksburg). And the New Hampshire-Nova-UMass-Richmond-W&M five-week stretch looks especially daunting.

Yeah, I know, this is four days old, which is like 17 years on the Internet. Anyways, if you want to read about it, I wrote it up over at SB Nation, my full-time gig now. Go read it there.

CAA Football Commissioner Tom Yeager said this afternoon that the league’s plan for next year is to “have 10 teams in the league and … no divisions.” There will still be eight conference games played. No word on what happens when ODU joins in 2011.

Will the schedule stay heavy on the traditional South division opponents?  Will recent meetings play a factor? I’m really not sure, and it may not matter, because the CAA is planning to completely redo the schedule for 2010 now.

UPDATE: According to Mike Barber, here’s how things might look in the CAA in 2012 (after ODI joins in 2011, and Georgia Southern the year after):

North
Delaware
New Hampshire
Maine
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Villanova
South
Georgia Southern
James Madison
Old Dominion
Richmond
Towson
William & Mary

Hofstra University is expected to announce the termination of its football program Thursday, according to a source. The dramatic announcement, believed to be based largely on financial reasons, is to be made at an 11 a.m. press conference.

Mike Barber reports that the school notified the CAA of their plans to cut the team earlier this week, and that the conference was “shocked.”

The university has just released an official statement:

Hofstra University’s Board of Trustees has decided to eliminate Hofstra’s Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly known as Division 1-AA) intercollegiate football program, and reinvest those resources into new academic programs and need-based scholarships, President Stuart Rabinowitz announced today.

The Board, acting on a recommendation from Rabinowitz, voted unanimously to end the football program, effective immediately, at a meeting on Wednesday night. The decision was the culmination of a comprehensive review of all university spending to determine the best ways to build on Hofstra’s successes and reach the highest level of academic excellence, nationally and internationally.

“As we continue to improve our academic programs and reputation, and plan the University’s future, we have to consider the investment we make in all of the University’s programs,” Rabinowitz said. “The cost of the football program, now and in the future, far exceeds the return possible from an FCS program, which does not generate significant national interest. Given that, along with the low level of interest, financial support and attendance among our students, our alumni and the community, the choice was painful, but clear.”

They also have a section for FAQ and a letter to the Hofstra community.

Hofstra finished 2009 with a 5-6 record, including a 24-17 win over then No. 7 ranked JMU.

Two teams cut in an 11-day span? What’s happening at the CAA?

(HT: SB Nation)

My thoughts are with those who live in Eagle.

On JMU’s slate of 2010 games, the contest with Virginia Tech replaces a scheduled meeting with Virginia Military Institute.  The Dukes during the 2010 season also will host Morehead State and Liberty in non-conference games and will play eight Colonial Athletic Association opponents.  Virginia Tech had been scheduled to play Western Michigan Sept. 11 but pushed the game to the 2016 season, allowing Western Michigan to accept an offer to play Notre Dame.

So, JMU essentially trading a 40-point win (VMI) for a 40-point loss. Why would the Dukes ever want to play the Hokies? I think Method Man said it best. Mr. Mef, wanna take this one?

“Cash Rules Everything Around Me / C.R.E.A.M. / Get the money /Dollar, dollar bill y’all”

Exactly. I don’t know what the amount is (JMU Windbreaker is saying it’s $400,000, but I have no idea who JMU Windbreaker is, so 400,000 could just be his favorite number or something), but JMU will most definitely being getting paid for their trip to Blacksburg. Which, ya know, should come in quite handy, what with that whole new stadium thing and all.

JMU last played Virginia Tech during the 2003 season, and all of the series meetings have taken place in Blacksburg.  The teams also met in 1980, 1988, 1991, 1992 and 1999.  Virginia Tech has won each of the series games.

JMU has been outscored 245-44 in the six previous games, including 84-0 in the past two meetings. So, there’s that. In the 1999 contest, Michael Vick rushed for 64 yards and three touchdowns (but Curtis Keaton rushed for 120 yards, so take that!).

The entire 2010 JMU schedule is still be worked out since Northeastern cut their football program Monday. As a result, the whole CAA schedule will be reworked.

The decision was a result of a two-year review of the university’s athletic department in which is was determined that football was simply too expensive to maintain, especially for a team that just completed its sixth consecutive losing season — the school essentially said it no longer wanted to pay $3 million a year for more losses than wins.

The CAA is reworking the entire league schedule as a result. JMU’s final game in 2010 was scheduled to be against Northeastern. So much for that nearly-guaranteed win I suppose.

That’s the bad news. But the good news is that the Dukes were able to secure a winning season, their sixth straight, with a 43-12 rout of Towson on Saturday.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Thorpe threw for 259 yards and a career-high three scores and James Madison had five touchdown plays of 31 yards or longer in a 43-12 Colonial Athletic Association football victory over Towson at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field Saturday.

Thorpe hit on 14 of 21 passes, and the Dukes compiled 471 yards of total offense (212 rushing, 259 passing).  JMU led 19-6 after one quarter, 26-6 at halftime and 33-12 after three quarters.

More on this later, but hey, how about Thorpe, huh? Considering how he started, pretty good season for the kid.

The win, JMU’s fourth in a row, got them to 6-5 on the year (in hindsight, it’s kind of amazing to think that the Dukes were 2-5 on the morning of Oct. 31). But despite the late-season success, the FCS playoffs will be  JMU-less for the first time since 2005, the year after their National Championship.

Head coach Mickey Matthews and the rest of the Dukes held out hope that the selection committee would put them into the playoffs after ending the regular season with a four-game winning streak and a winning record at 6-5. Matthews also praised his team’s strength of schedule while playing in one of the nation’s toughest conferences.

The CAA saw four teams make the playoffs including Villanova, the No. 2 seed overall. The Wildcats will host Holy Cross (9-2) in their opening game. Richmond also grabbed one of the top seeds (No. 4). The defending national champions take on Elon (9-2), who will make their first ever playoff appearance.

New Hampshire (9-2) will visit McNeese State (9-2) in the first round, and William & Mary (9-2) plays Weber State, who squeaked in at 7-4. The Wildcats are the first seven-win team to make the playoffs since New Hampshire in 2007.

Montana (11-0), who beat the Dukes in the 2008 FCS Semifinals in Harrisonburg, earned the top seed in the playoffs. The Grizzlies are also the only unbeaten squad in the 16-team bracket.

You can view the whole bracket here. Games begin Saturday.

As for JMU … it’s officially Wait ‘Til Next Year mode.