(STATS) – A contract through the 2027 season won’t be enough to keep James Madison coach Mike Houston at the FCS power in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
He’s been too successful.
Houston will leave James Madison after three seasons to take over the FBS program at Charlotte, according to reports Wednesday.
Neither school has confirmed the hiring.
The 47-year-old Houston has a 37-5 record with the Dukes. He led them to the 2016 FCS national championship in his first season and a runner-up finish last year, winning CAA Football titles in both seasons. This year, they are 9-3 heading into a second-round playoff game at Colgate on Saturday.
With growing interest in Houston nationally, James Madison tried to fend off the suitors last December when it signed Houston to a second contract extension within a one-year span, this time a 10-year deal through the 2027 season.
Included in the deal was a $500,000 buyout if Houston departed James Madison for a Conference USA school prior to Jan. 31, 2020.
Houston has an 80-24 career record. Before his hiring at James Madison, he went 14-11 with one FCS playoff appearance in two seasons at The Citadel and 29-8 with two playoff appearances, including a 2013 national runner-up finish, at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne.
Houston would take over a Charlotte program that began as an FCS startup in 2013 before it moved up to the FBS level and Conference USA in 2015. Coach Brad Lambert, who was 22-46 in six seasons, was fired on Nov. 18.
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