Bill Text: VA SR113 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Commending Jeff Bourne.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2024-03-06 - Bill text as passed Senate (SR113ER) [SR113 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-SR113-Introduced.html
WHEREAS, Jeff Bourne, longtime athletic director at James Madison University and a champion of collegiate athletics in the Commonwealth, will retire in 2024; and
WHEREAS, after graduating with a degree in business and accounting from Bridgewater College in 1981, Jeff Bourne joined the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University as an auditor, where he would ultimately work full-time in athletics for approximately a decade; and
WHEREAS, following a brief stint at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Jeff Bourne became the athletics director of James Madison University (JMU) on July 15, 1999; and
WHEREAS, over Jeff Bourne's tenure at JMU, which is currently the seventh longest at one school among active National College Athletic Association Division I athletic directors, JMU teams have won three national titles, 77 conference championships, and 60 regular season conference titles; and
WHEREAS, Jeff Bourne's legacy at JMU includes the construction of the Atlantic Union Bank Center in 2020 and renovation of the Convocation Center in 2023, as well as numerous upgrades and improvements to other athletic facilities; and
WHEREAS, Jeff Bourne has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to his student-athletes and their future success, working tirelessly to ensure that they excel not only in their sports, but in the classroom as well; and
WHEREAS, Jeff Bourne has courageously led the JMU athletic department through periods of growth and change over the years in response to the needs of the day, creating an environment in which all 18 of the university's teams can thrive; and
WHEREAS, JMU's accomplishments both as a charter member of the Colonial Athletic Association and following its transition to the Sun Belt Conference in 2022 are a testament to the culture that Jeff Bourne has fostered during his time at the school and a reflection of the impact he has had on countless lives; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That Jeff Bourne, esteemed athletic director of James Madison University, hereby be commended on the occasion of his retirement; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Jeff Bourne as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's admiration for his career in service to the Commonwealth's young people and best wishes for a happy and fulfilling retirement.
