The Dukes are the football team of James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia. They compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the NCAA and play in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference.
π James Madison Dukes Football History
JMU (then Madison College) fielded its first football team in 1972. The Dukes competed as an independent school for most of the program's first 20 years, before joining the Yankee Conference in 1993.
Following 3 years in the Yankee Conference, JMU moved to the Atlantic 10 Conference and remained a member for 9 years. In 2007, the Dukes joined CAA Football.
JMU received an invitation to move up to the FBS in 2021 as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Dukes played their first FBS season in 2022.