The James Madison University football team announced its schedule for the 2012 season today, which includes six home games at the expanded Bridgeforth Stadium including defending CAA champion Towson. Game times will be announced at a later date, following the completion of the CAA Television contracts.
“This is a quality schedule for our football program to have six home games,” Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne said. “After our opening season in the renovated Bridgeforth Stadium being such a great success in averaging more than 25,000 fans a game, we wanted to make sure the JMU Nation got the opportunity to see the Dukes at home as much as possible. This schedule accomplishes that and gives us some quality opponents at home, especially in the CAA. It is also great to be able to play West Virginia at FedEx Field in Washington, D.C., giving our fans and great alumni base in northern Virginia the chance to see the Dukes play a nationally-ranked team in a National Football League stadium.”
“We are really excited about having six home games ,” Head Coach Mickey Matthews added. “Our players and coaches are looking forward to playing West Virginia at FedEx field. It is what I would call a balanced schedule with our home and away games more evenly distributed than last year. Ending the season with Old Dominion will begin a fun tradition for both institutions and football programs.”
Coming off eight straight winning seasons and a berth in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championships, JMU will start the season with a pair of home games against St. Francis (Pa.) on Sept. 1 and Alcorn State on Sept. 8. From there, the Dukes will travel two hours up the road on Sept. 15 to the nation’s capital to play West Virginia at FedEx Field, home of the NFL’s Washington Redskins.
Madison will open conference play on the road at Rhode Island Sat., Sept. 22. An open date will follow before the Dukes host the league-champion Tigers Sat., Oct. 6, as part of Family Weekend. Madison remains home the following week to host William & Mary Oct. 13 before traveling two hours down the road to take on the Richmond Spiders and former Liberty and new UR Head Coach Danny Rocco on Oct. 20.
JMU welcomes CAA newcomer Georgia State to Harrisonburg for Homecoming on Sat., Oct. 27 before going on the road for back-to-back road games at Maine, Nov. 3, and Villanova, Nov. 10. The conference slate wraps up with the newest Madison rival making its first trip to Bridgeforth, as Old Dominion comes to town on Sat., Nov. 17.
The 2012 Division I Football Championship Playoffs will begin Nov. 24, with the 20-team bracket wrapping up with the 2013 NCAA Championship Game in January 2013 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.
Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by contacting the JMU Ticket Office at 540-568-3853 or online at www.JMUSports.com/tickets.
Share
Contributors
