The Delaware–James Madison football rivalry is the U.S. college football rivalry between the

Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens are the athletic teams of the University of Delaware (UD) of Newark, Delaware, in the United States. The Blue Hens compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of Division I of the National Collegiat ...

and the

James Madison Dukes The James Madison Dukes are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent James Madison University (JMU), in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The name "Dukes" is derived from Samuel Page Duke, the university's se ...

. As of the 2025 FBS season, it will be a dormant matchup between two similarly sized Division I FBS schools in the

Mid-Atlantic region The Mid-Atlantic is a region of the United States located in the overlap between the nation's Northeastern and Southeastern states. Traditional definitions include seven U.S. states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virgi ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

The rivalry became an annual affair in 1993 when the Dukes joined the football-only

Yankee Conference The Yankee Conference was a collegiate sports conference in the eastern United States. From 1947 to 1976, it sponsored competition in many sports, but was a football-only league from mid-1976 until its dissolution in 1996. It is essentially the a ...

. In 1997, the Yankee Conference was absorbed by the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

(A-10), with the rivalry continuing in that league through the 2006 season. The multi-sports conference now known as the

Coastal Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

took over A-10 football in 2007, creating the technically separate entity of CAA Football to govern that sport. The two universities remained conference rivals through the 2021 season, although the annual rivalry ended after the 2017 season due to changes in the CAA Football scheduling format. During this period, the teams have combined for three National Championships (Delaware in 2003; James Madison in 2004 and 2016), four National Runners-up (Delaware in 2007 and 2010; James Madison in 2017 and 2019), and 14 Conference Championships (Delaware in 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2010, and 2020 and James Madison in 1999, 2004, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019). On November 6, 2021, it was announced that the James Madison football program had accepted an invitation to move up to the FBS Subdivision and would join the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

prior to the 2022 football season. On November 27, 2023, it was announced that the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football program also had accepted an invitation to move up to the FBS Subdivision and would join the

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

prior to the 2025 football season. On January 17, 2024, both schools announced a four game, home-and-home football series beginning in 2027 in Newark, DE.

Game results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaware-James Madison football rivalry College football rivalries in the United States Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football James Madison Dukes football

History

Game results

See also

References