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The James Madison Dukes will be searching for a new coach as Mark Byington is leaving the program to become the next head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores.
This move was announced less than 24 hours after the team lost 93-55 in the NCAA men's tournament's round of 32 to the Duke Blue Devils. While the financial terms or anything related to it have not been released, it appears the Dukes are going to be in the coaching hunt.
Byington coached four seasons with the Dukes and went 82-36, including one NCAA Tournament appearance. He helped transition the team smoothly from the Colonial Athletic Association to the Sun Belt Conference, a steep increase in terms of opponents.
However, college hoops fans took to social media to react to Byington's decision to leave after a record-breaking 32-4 season with the Dukes.
Mark Byington has been coaching since taking over as the interim at the College of Charleston in the 2011-12 season. He was the head coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles from 2013 to 2020 before taking the James Madison Dukes job.
With a career record of 220-137 (.616 win percentage), he is a talented coach, but it will be interesting to see how he handles the Southeastern Conference.
What are the expectations for Mark Byington and the Commodores for next season?
The Vanderbilt Commodores will be a team that needs to do a lot to compete next season. They finished 13th in the SEC with a 9-23 (4-14) record, and unless they are proactive in the NCAA Transfer Portal, this team is going to take a while to rebuild.
Former coach Jerry Stackhouse struggled as this team was 356th with 67.9 points per game and 482nd with only 9.4 assists per game. With the Commodores adding three incoming freshmen to their roster and only Jamie Vinson receiving a 79 grade via ESPN, the future does not look great.
However, this could be where Vandy begins to lay the foundation as Mark Byington creates the Commodores program into a Power Five version of what the James Madison Dukes became. However, it all depends on what he is able to do with the transfer portal.
