Sun Belt · Harrisonburg, VA
James Madison
Dukes
Unranked2026: 5-0 (2-0 conf) Bridgeforth Stadium
National titles
0
Claimed
Heisman winners
0
CFP berths
1
since 2014
All-time
222-96
.698 win pct
Weeks ranked
14
of 104 polls since 2020
Weeks at No. 1
0
since 2020
The program
Overview
James Madison won FCS national championships in 2004 and 2016 before moving to FBS and the Sun Belt in 2022. Curt Cignetti's 2023 team won 11 games in the regular season, and in 2025 the Dukes won the Sun Belt title and earned a College Football Playoff berth under Bob Chesney.
Rivals
Old DominionRoyal Rivalry
- Institution
- James Madison University
- Nickname
- Dukes
- Founded
- 1908
- First season
- 1972
- Conference
- Sun Belt
- Head coach
- Billy Napier (since 2026)
- Colors
- X / Twitter
- @JMUFootball
Since 2020
AP poll history
5-0 overall
2026 season
- Sep 5
- Sep 12WagnWagner3
- Sep 19
- Sep 26Old Dominion (home)20
- Oct 3
- Oct 10
Georgia Southern (home) - Oct 17
Georgia StateJames Madison (home) - Oct 22
App State (home) - Oct 29James Madison (home)
- Nov 5
Southern Miss (home) - Nov 14
UConn (home) - Nov 28James Madison (home)
Players
Roster & stats
Rosters and player stats are tracked for teams ranked in 2026 and later.
Home field
Bridgeforth Stadium
Capacity
24,877
Harrisonburg, VA
- Opened
- 1975
- 51 seasons ago
- Surface
- Artificial turf
- Roof
- Open air
- Elevation
- 1,310 ft
- Time zone
- New York
- Avg. home crowd
- 24,416
- 98% of capacity · 24 games since 2020
- Biggest crowd since 2020
- 26,239
- vs Old Dominion, 2023
- Zip
- 22807
Titles & awards
Trophy case
National championships0
No claimed national titles.
Heisman Trophy winners0
No Heisman winners yet.
College Football Playoff1
2025 · 12th seed · Playoff
1978–2026
Program history
Win %★ National title season
Best seasons
- 201614-1
- 201714-1
- 200811-1
- 201914-2
- 20207-1
- 202112-2
On the sideline
Head coaches
| Coach | Tenure | Record | Pct | Best final AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Napier | 2026 | 0-0 | — | — |
| Bob Chesney | 2024–2025 | 21-6 | .778 | #19 |
| Damian Wroblewski | 2023 | 0-1 | .000 | — |
| Curt Cignetti | 2022–2023 | 19-4 | .826 | — |
1 picks · 0 first-rounders
NFL Draft since 2020
20201 picks
- #231Ben DiNucciQuarterback · Dallas