As a teenager growing up in Salem, Va., Jeff Bourne ’81 had his sights set on a career as a veterinarian. The principal of his high school persuaded Bourne to take a look at Bridgewater College. Like many students who have chosen Bridgewater over the years, Bourne was sold after he visited campus.
“I was intrigued by the size, the uniqueness and [Bridgewater’s] location in the Shenandoah Valley,” Bourne recalled. “It was close to the things I like to do like hiking and fly fishing. After about a day I said that I could see myself there.”
Bourne arrived on the Bridgewater campus in the fall of 1977 and declared biology as his major with thoughts of going to veterinary school after graduation. During his first two years he did well in his science courses, but his direction was about to change.
“I had a sister, [Anne Bourne-Kidd ’84], who came along a year or two after me and we took an organic chemistry course together,” Bourne said. “She got an A and I got a C and I remember her saying to me, ‘Hey big guy, I don’t think that medicine is going to be your path.’” So Bourne switched his major to business administration. “Accounting was a good field and there were lots of jobs. It was important to me to get hired [after graduation].”
Bourne fondly recalled his professors in the business department: George Fitchett, Dr. Bernie Logan ’38 and Robert Hueston. He also remembered Dr. Gary Tyeryar, an English professor.
“He really helped me learn how to express myself in the written word,” Bourne said of Tyeryar. “I remember taking art history and I’ve used that so much in my life. When you travel abroad, you realize how valuable those liberal arts courses are.”
Bourne lived two years each in Wright and Heritage halls and served as a resident advisor. He became friends with many students, including Dwight Denlinger ’81, Andy Miller ’80, Phil Nolley ’80 and Mark Kidd ’81, to name a few.
“Mark became my brother-in-law,” Bourne said. “It was neat to see how those guys went on and what their careers became.”
It was also at BC that Bourne met his future wife, Mary Lou Garber ’83, a Harrisonburg native and fellow business administration major. The Bournes stayed close to the Bridgewater campus after graduating. Jeff worked for a local accounting firm and Mary Lou worked in the BC business office as a controller.
When Mary Lou took a job at Virginia Tech, the Bournes moved to Blacksburg, Va. Jeff took graduate classes, worked part time on campus and did some accounting work for Virginia Tech’s athletic department.
“I did a little bit of everything and then got into fundraising,” Bourne said of his introduction to college athletics. When Athletic Director Dave Braine took a position at Georgia Tech, he took Bourne with him to Atlanta as his assistant.
In 1999, Bourne returned to the Shenandoah Valley when he was hired as the Athletic Director at James Madison University. Over the past 25 years, Bourne had one of the most successful tenures as an athletic administrator of all levels in the country. He led the Dukes’ football team from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) to the Football Bowl Subdivision, the NCAA’s highest level of competition. Under Bourne’s leadership, many JMU athletic teams earned conference titles and NCAA tournament appearances before he retired this spring.
Although he received many accolades, awards and recognition for his work, Bourne points to the people around him as key.
“Honestly, it was about being able to pull together a team and create a sense of unity. We all worked so well together,” he said. “We had great administration, donors and fans. When you put all that together, great things can happen.”
One of those key team members at JMU was another BC graduate, Curt Dudley ’83. Dudley served as Director of Broadcast Services for JMU, a role that encompassed tracking sports information and developing multimedia programming on the college’s athletics.
“He’s one of the best all-around people to work in college athletics,” Bourne said of Dudley.
Bourne has also kept an eye on another college classmate, Curt Kendall ’81, who has served as BC’s Director of Athletics since 2001.
“I think what Curt has done [at Bridgewater] is remarkable,” Bourne said. “The coaches that he has hired and the success they have had has been great.”
Bourne said that his Bridgewater experience was huge part of his success.
“BC gave me an excellent education,” he said. “It also gave me the foundation to grow and continue to learn throughout my lifetime. I would tell any students that you have to do that if you are going to be successful in this world.”
Retirement has taken the Bournes to North Carolina, where they have a home on Lake Norman, near Charlotte. Their two sons, Kyle and Jason, live nearby, so they are close to family, grandchildren and many great fishing holes.
– Mark Griffin ’88
Photos courtesy of James Madison University.
