The CFP Era · 2014–present

James Madison

Twelve seasons in three acts · Sun Belt

123–29Record
80.9%Win %
0National titles
5Playoff games
2025Peak season
51Avg. percentile
2NFL draftees

The three-act trajectory

Within-season power percentile against the FBS cohort, season by season.

FOUNDINGTRANSITIONEXPANSION0255075100141516171819202122232425Peak of the era2025 · 12–2Steepest fall2020
Source CFB Zeitgeist · power ratings
Founding2014–2020

The four-team Playoff era. The bracket is small, the margin for error none.

71–16 · avg percentile 42
Transition2021–2023

The last seasons before expansion — NIL arrives, the portal opens, the four-team format ends.

31–7 · avg percentile 60
Expansion2024–present

The twelve-team Playoff. A wider field changes what a season has to prove.

21–6 · avg percentile 67

Defining games

Coaches of the era

Curt Cignetti2022–2022
Damian Wroblewski2023–2023
Bob Chesney2024–2025

Coach records begin 2022.

Roster of the era

2 players drafted into the NFL across the CFP era.

118
119

Entering Year 13

The 2026 season opens the next chapter of the expansion era under Bob Chesney. See the 2014–2025 program page →