Head Coach Mark Byington

James Madison Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne has named Mark Byington as the 11th men's basketball head coach in program history, as announced by the school on Friday March 20, 2020.

A native of Salem, Va., Byington returns to the Commonwealth after seven years at the helm of the Georgia Southern men's basketball program, where he led the Eagles to a 131-97 record. He was also the first GSU coach to win 20 or more games in three consecutive seasons - his final three in Statesboro - in more than 30 years.

Under Byington's leadership, Georgia Southern racked up 13 all-conference selections, including Tookie Brown, who was the first Sun Belt Player of the Year in program history in 2019 and was the first player in league history to take home four First Team All-Sun Belt nods. Byington departs GSU with the highest winning percentage in conference games of any active Sun Belt head coach.

Prior to his arrival, the Eagles had produced a winning season just once in seven years. In the seven years since, Byington has presided over excellence both on and off the court, notching six winning campaigns and averaging nearly 12 league wins per season while posting a 100 percent graduation rate and recording the 10 highest team grade point averages in program history across the last five years.

Before earning his first full-time head coaching job in Statesboro, Byington spent seven years as the top assistant coach at College of Charleston under legendary head coach Bobby Cremins. He was also named interim head coach for the last month of the 2011-12 campaign when Cremins took a leave of absence, guiding the Cougars to a 7-4 record in their final 11 games.

All told, Charleston posted a 194-100 record while Byington was in the Lowcountry, including a 108-51 mark in Southern Conference contests. The Cougars notched six 20-win seasons in his nine years, adding three SoCon regular season championships along the way.

Byington began his collegiate basketball journey in the Colonial Athletic Association, where he starred for Head Coach Jerry Wainwright at UNCW before embarking on his coaching career. He was a three-year starter for the Seahawks, scoring 1,088 career points on his way to two CAA All-Academic selections, as well as Second Team All-CAA and CAA All-Defensive Team honors as a senior. He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from UNCW in 1998.

No stranger to coaching in Virginia, Byington started his coaching career at national powerhouse Hargrave Military Academy, while also making later stops at both Virginia Tech and Virginia, where he earned his master's degree in sport psychology in 2003.

Prior to college, Byington was a standout at Salem High School, where he was named State Player of the Year as a senior while leading Salem to a state championship. He also picked up honorable mention All-America honors and was named First Team All-State twice. Following his senior season, he was named MVP of the Virginia High School League All Star Game.