About James Madison

The James Madison Dukes football program represents James Madison University in the sport of American football. The Dukes compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), beginning play within the conference for the 2022 season. The university first fielded a football team in 1972, and the Dukes play at the on-campus Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The Dukes are currently coached by Curt Cignetti.

The JMU football team has been the centerpiece of JMU sports since the early 1990s. Under former head coach Mickey Matthews the Dukes continued their rise in national prominence, winning the 2004 FCS National Championship. The Dukes won their second national championship in 2016 and finished as national runners-up in 2017 and 2019.

Notable Dukes include Charles Haley, one of two players to win five Super Bowl rings and is also an inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame; Scott Norwood, of the Buffalo Bills; Gary Clark, an All-Pro wide receiver for the Washington Commanders; and Arthur Moats, a linebacker for the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers who is known for delivering the sack that led to the end of the record streak of consecutive starts made by Brett Favre in the National Football League (NFL).