James Madison Dukes
James Madison Dukes | |
---|---|
University | James Madison University |
Conference | Sun Belt (primary) MAC (field hockey) AAC (women's lacrosse) |
NCAA | Division I (FBS) |
Athletic director | Jeff Bourne |
Location | Harrisonburg, Virginia |
Varsity teams | 19 |
Football stadium | Bridgeforth Stadium |
Basketball arena | Atlantic Union Bank Center |
Baseball stadium | Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park |
Soccer stadium | Sentara Park |
Mascot | Duke Dog |
Nickname | Dukes |
Fight song | JMU Fight Song |
Colors | Purple and gold[1] |
Website | jmusports |
The James Madison Dukes are the
The university mascot, Duke Dog, is frequently seen at many sporting events, and the school colors are royal purple and gold. JMU has won five NCAA national championships, third-most among Virginia colleges and universities, trailing only Virginia (31) and Old Dominion (28).
JMU's women's athletics tradition is among the oldest in the nation, dating nearly back to the institution's founding in 1908. Strong intercollegiate programs for women have been in place at the university since the early 1920s, and JMU was among the first of the nation's institutions to provide well-rounded overall intercollegiate offerings for females. Men's athletics began at JMU when it admitted its first men in the late 1940s, and a comprehensive program for men began evolving in the late 1960s when the university became fully coeducational.[4]
Sports sponsored
Men's sports | Women's sports |
---|---|
Baseball | Basketball |
Basketball | Cross country |
Football | Field hockey |
Golf | Golf |
Soccer | Lacrosse |
Tennis | Soccer |
Softball | |
Swimming and diving | |
Tennis | |
Track and field† | |
Volleyball | |
Cheerleading | |
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor |
JMU sponsors an 18-sport intercollegiate athletics program. JMU has men's athletics programs in baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer, and tennis. For women, the university offers programs in basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor), and volleyball.[5]
Baseball
The JMU
Men's basketball
The men's
Women's basketball
The women's basketball team was founded in 1920 making it one of the longest-running women's basketball programs in the country. The team has made the NCAA tournament eleven times, most recently in the 2013–14 season. They have gone to the WNIT six times. A perennial postseason participant throughout the 1980s, the program has seen a revival in recent years. Nationally recognized JMU players who have recently graduated include Meredith Alexis (2007) who has continued to play professional basketball in Europe. Alexis holds the CAA record for most career rebounds and was the school's all-time leading scorer before being passed by Tamera Young during the 2007–08 season. Young would graduate and finish the 2008 season having established a new all-time CAA scoring record and was selected in the first round (8th overall) of the 2008 WNBA draft. Dawn Evans, was an Associated Press All-American honorable mention in 2009 after finishing the season as the nation's third leading scorer, and was named CAA Player of the Year in 2011. The team won the 2010 Colonial Athletic Association championship for the first time since 1989, defeating ODU in the championship game, and again in 2011, defeating the University of Delaware. In 2012 the team competed in the WNIT defeating Davidson, Wake Forest, South Florida, Virginia, and Syracuse to reach the championship game. Competing for their first ever WNIT title, they played Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma and lost 75–68. As of 2010, the women's basketball team had compiled an all-time record of 779–447–5. On January 6, 2015, the Dukes became the 3rd NCAA women's basketball team to reach 1000 wins in program history, defeating the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks 74–57.
The Dukes women moved into Atlantic Union Bank Center alongside the men in fall 2020.
Field hockey
The
Football
The Dukes played their first season in 1972 and were coached by
Notable Dukes include Charles Haley, one of only two players to win five Super Bowl rings and inductee of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame;[13] Scott Norwood, the Buffalo Bills' all-time leading scorer; and Gary Clark, an All-Pro wide receiver for the Washington Redskins (now the Washington Commanders).
Softball
Men's soccer
Women's lacrosse
JMU has fielded a women's lacrosse team every year since 1969, when the program began. It became a member of the CAA in 1992 and has played its conference schedule against Colonial teams every year since then. The Dukes currently compete as an affiliate member of the American Athletic Conference.[14]
JMU Lacrosse won the school's fourth Division I National Championship in May 2018, when JMU's senior-laden team capped a Cinderella run with a 16–15 win over Boston College.[15]
National championships and playoff appearances
National Championships | |
Football (DI-AA/FCS) | 2004, 2016 |
Field Hockey | 1994 |
Women's Lacrosse | 2018 |
Archery | 1995 |
Division I FCS Playoff Appearances | |
Football | 1987, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
Men's College World Series appearances | |
Baseball | 1983 |
Women's College World Series appearances | |
Softball | 2021 |
NCAA tournament Appearances | |
Baseball | 1976, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1995, 2002, 2008, 2011 |
Men's Basketball | 1981, 1982, 1983, 1994, 2013 |
Women's Basketball | 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1995, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2023 |
Field Hockey | 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 |
Women's Lacrosse | 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 |
Men's Soccer | 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2014, 2018 |
Women's Soccer | 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010 |
Softball | 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 |
Volleyball | 2016, 2017, 2022 |
Rivalries
Old Dominion
On October 26, 2022, the JMU Dukes and in-state rival Old Dominion University announced the official beginning of the "Royal Rivalry".[16] As the Virginia-based schools within the Sun Belt Conference, they will compete for an all-sports trophy that contains a football component and draws its name from the royal inspiration of both schools' mascots.
Title IX compliance
On September 29, 2006, the James Madison University Board of Visitors announced that ten sports teams would be eliminated effective July 1, 2007.
This action, however, was not without precedent. In March 2001, JMU's Board of Visitors was presented with four options for bringing the athletic program into compliance with Title IX. At that time, the options as presented to the board were to maintain the status quo, eliminate eight teams as recommended by JMU's Centennial Sports Committee, create a two-tiered system consisting of scholarship and non-scholarship teams as recommended by the administration, or raise student fees to fund an endowment for athletic scholarships as recommended by athletic coaches. Board of Visitors Athletic Committee chair Pablo Cuevas was paraphrased in The Breeze as stating that the option of maintaining the status quo was not viable due to concerns regarding Title IX. At that time, the teams under consideration for elimination were men's wrestling, swimming, archery, gymnastics, and tennis, and women's gymnastics, archery, and fencing.[19] The Board of Visitors, in a unanimous vote, ultimately decided to adopt the administration's recommendation of a two-tiered system of scholarship and non-scholarship teams. The non-scholarship teams were men's swimming, indoor and outdoor track and field, cross country, golf, wrestling, tennis, gymnastics, and women's swimming. Athletic director Jeff Bourne stated that the plan to eliminate scholarship funding would be implemented gradually over four to five years, as all then-active scholarships would be honored, and that verbal commitments to scholarships made by coaches to potential recruits would also be honored.[20]
References
- ^ "Color Information" (PDF). JMU Official Athletics Identity Usage and Style Guide. July 12, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "JMU to the Sun Belt: Frequently Asked Questions". JMUSports.com. November 6, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- ^ "James Madison to Compete in the Sun Belt Conference Beginning Fall 2022" (Press release). Sun Belt Conference. February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "JMU Athletics At A Glance". JMUSports.com. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
- ^ "Athletics At a Glance". James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ^ Borzello, Jeff. "Tiny Dancers: James Madison". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ "NCAA Field Hockey Champions". Usfieldhockey.com. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
- ^ "#4 JMU draws #12 Virginia in NCAA Field Hockey First Round – JMUSports.com—Official Web site of James Madison University Athletics". JMUSports.com. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
- ^ "James Madison To Join MAC As Affiliate Member in Field Hockey in 2024". Retrieved June 9, 2023.
- ^ "Va. Tech suffers 2nd loss in 6 days as James Madison pulls off upset". ESPN. September 11, 2010.
- ^ "James Madison wins FCS title, beats Youngstown State". ESPN.com. January 7, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ "North Dakota St. edges JMU to regain FCS title". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
- ^ "Inductees: Charles Haley". College Football Hall of Fame. Atlanta Hall Management, Inc. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
- ^ "American Adds James Madison University as Affiliate Member in Women's Lacrosse" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- ^ "2018 women's NCAA lacrosse championships – James Madison Dukes gut it out against Boston College Eagles, complete dream season with national title". espnW. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
- ^ "'Royal Rivalry': ODU and JMU create new challenge — with trophy on the line". October 26, 2022.
- ^ "JMU Enacts Proportionality Plan to Comply with Title IX" (Press release). James Madison University. September 29, 2006. Archived from the original on August 27, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2006.
- ^ "Letter from United States Olympic Committee" (PDF). United States Olympic Committee. October 12, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 2, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2006.
- ^ Jones, Sarah (March 22, 2001). "BOV to decide athletic future". The Breeze. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2006.
- ^ Jones, Sarah (March 26, 2001). "Final Verdict – BOV votes to cut scholarships". The Breeze. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2006.