Bob Chesney at UCLA: Former JMU coach must overcome the school to succeed
The basketball power needs to shift in 2026.
Bob Chesney at UCLA: Former JMU coach must overcome the school to succeed originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Bob Chesney was a good coach at Holy Cross in Massachusetts.
This left James Madison to hire him away when Curt Cignetti left the Dukes to head to Indiana and the Hoosiers. Taking most of his roster with him. Despite these defections, Chesney was able to rebuild the Dukes and compile an 8-4 regular season record and win his first bowl game as an FBS coach in the Boca Raton Bowl.
His second year is what got him the UCLA position to replace DeShaun Foster. In 2025, James Madison lost only one game in the regular season. A 14-point road loss to Louisville.
They ran off an undefeated Sul Belt season and won the conference championship game to become the second Group of Six team to make the playoff field in 2025. Tulane, who played a harder schedule, received the 11-seed while James Madison, by virtue of being the fourth-highest ranked conference winner, got the 12-seed and a trip to Eugene, Oregon. The game did not go as planned as the Dukes lost 51-34, but the ability to put up 34 on a solid Ducks defense was a feat in itself.