JMU TRADITION XX JMU Football -- An Excellent Tradition
JMU winning the NCAA Division I-AA national title in 2004 is the high point in team history and demonstrates the remarkable growth the program has enjoyed since its inception in 1972. Eight years later, the JMU program has continued to build on that success, adding four more playoff bids and compiling an overall record of 69 -30 since the beginning of the 2004 season. Now under their fifth head coach, the Dukes have gone from a nonscholarship team recruited through registration lines to a program that has reached the top of the NCAA Championship Subdivision, from playing at a local high school to competing at on-campus Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field with an adjoining state-of-the- JMU’s 1972 team, the university’s first, photographed on the front steps of Godwin Hall art support facility, from playing junior varsity and military school teams to competing in the nation’s top FCS I-A foes Virginia and Virginia Tech in 1979 and man Woody Bergeria and linebacker Dewey league, the Colonial Athletic Association. 1980. Under Coach Challace McMillin, the Windham received early All-America honors, JMU has played in the NCAA playoffs nine Dukes in 1982 beat Virginia on its home field in and tailbacks Ron Stith and Bernard Slayton times since 1990 and 10 times overall, beginwhat always will be one of the more-memoracompiled remarkably similar statistics durning in 1987. Several former Dukes have had ble games in team history. ing standout careers from 1973-76. Both are prominent careers in the National Football members of JMU’s Athletic Hall of Fame, as JMU continued climbing in Division I-AA and League. are Bergeria and Branich. reached the NCAA playoffs in 1987 during a Another significant change in the JMU 9-3 year under Coach Joe Purzycki. Coach Rip Bergeria and Windham were leaders on the program currently was recently completed – a Scherer led the Dukes to the playoffs in 1991 1975 team that allowed only 75 points, gave $62 million expansion and renovation that inand 1994, and Coach Alex Wood and Coach up more than seven points in only three of 10 creased Bridgeforth Stadium’s seating capacity Mickey Matthews led them to post-season play games and shut out three foes. While sharing to almost 25,000 and added numerous crowdin 1995 and 1999. All three were in their first tailback duties, Stith ran for 2,308 career yards friendly amenities to the stadium complex for years as head coaches during their first playoff and Slayton for 2,161, and they still are among the 2011 season. appearances. JMU’s career rushing yards leaders. They
Rapid Development Football began at JMU in 1972, and in 1975 the Dukes were 9-0-1. They were ranked atop the Division III poll in 1976, by 1979 gave scholarships and in 1980 began competing in Division I-AA. After facing few varsity teams for two years, JMU had games with Division
Matthews’ 2004 national championship team made history by becoming the first Division I-AA team to win three road playoff games in a season, and his teams were back in postseason play in 2006, 2007, and 2008. The 2008 team was top ranked nationally from late September through the end of the regular season, was the No. 1 seed for the NCAA playoffs, and compiled an 8-0 record while winning the Colonial Athletic Association championship. The Dukes reached the 2008 national semifinals, hosted three playoff games and had a 12-game winning streak. While ranked as the co-No. 1 team in the nation in 1976, JMU played in the first Division III game televised by a major network (at Hampden-Sydney). From early in 1975 until early in 1976 JMU put together a 12-game winning streak and an unbeaten run of 13 games.
Long List of Heros
Charles Haley, JMU’s first Division I-AA All-America, and teammates receive instructions from linebacker coach Steve Wilt
The names of professional standouts Scott Norwood, Gary Clark and Charles Haley are most often mentioned in discussions of JMU football history, but the program’s first 37 years have produced numerous standouts. Quarterback Les Branich and offensive lineman Jeff Adams were early cornerstones and the only players to letter during each of the program’s first four years. Defensive line-
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combined to run for 44 career touchdowns. Linebacker Dale Caparaso had three of the top season-tackle totals in team history from 1976-79, and quarterback John Bowers threw for 1,169 yards and four touchdowns and ran for four scores to lead the Dukes to an 8-2 record and a No. 9 national ranking in 1978, their final Division III year. Offensive guard Rick Booth was a 1978 All-America.
Transition Period The move to a scholarship program was challenging, but the period produced some of JMU’s top performers. Norwood enrolled in 1978 and became one of Division I-AA’s top placekickers; Clark arrived in 1980 and gave JMU its best receiver-kick returner combination; and Haley and Warren Marshall, the team’s career rushing leader, arrived in 1982. All four are in JMU’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Marshall, with 4,168 career rushing yards, completed his career as the top rusher in Virginia college history, and he had a team career-record 20 100-yard rushing games. Clyde Hoy led JMU in tackles in 1980 and 1981 and finished his career with 503 stops. Offensive linemen John Kent and John Blackwell were All-Americans in 1982 and 1983, respectively, and Haley in 1985 was JMU’s first Associated Press first-team I-AA