Around the Sun Podcast | YouTube
NEW ORLEANS — James Madison will begin its FBS tenure with a home game, when it hosts Middle Tennessee to open the 2022 season on Saturday, Sept. 3, at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
While making the jump from the FCS to the FBS ranks, the Dukes will become just the second transitioning program to host another FBS school in its season opener, joining Buffalo in 1999.
James Madison’s non-conference slate also includes a home game against Norfolk State (Sept. 10) and a visit to Louisville (Nov. 5).
The Dukes were picked to finish sixth in the new-look Sun Belt East Division in the 2022 Sun Belt Football Preseason Coaches Poll, one spot ahead of fellow new member Old Dominion.
No stranger to the FBS level, where he spent 27 years as an assistant, Curt Cignetti will guide James Madison into a new era with a roster that returns
five All-Conference selections from 2021 and
had one student-athlete named to the 2022 Preseason All-Sun Belt teams.
The Dukes will aim to follow the path forged by a number of current Sun Belt members—most recently App State, Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina—that have found success at the FBS level after transitioning from the FCS ranks.
James Madison had made eight-straight trips to the FCS Playoffs, including semifinal appearances in five of the last six seasons, before making the jump to the FBS and the Sun Belt. As a transitioning program, the Dukes are ineligible for the Sun Belt Conference championship game or a bowl game during the 2022 season.
To listen to head coach Curt Cignetti, graduate student running back Percy Agyei-Obese and redshirt senior defensive lineman Isaac Ukwu’s comments from the 2022 Sun Belt Football Media Days,
download the latest Around the Sun Podcast episode on Apple Podcasts, Pandora or Spotify—among other platforms—or visit the
Sun Belt Conference YouTube page.
2022 SCHEDULE
| 9/3 |
Middle Tennessee |
| 9/10 |
Norfolk State |
| 9/24 |
at App State* |
| 10/1 |
Texas State* |
| 10/8 |
at Arkansas State* |
| 10/15 |
at Georgia Southern* |
| 10/22 |
Marshall* |
| 11/5 |
at Louisville |
| 11/12 |
at Old Dominion* |
| 11/19 |
Georgia State* |
| 11/26 |
Coastal Carolina* |
* Sun Belt Conference Game
2021 ALL-CONFERENCE RETURNERS
First Team
WR – Kris Thornton, James Madison (RS Sr., WR – Manassas, Va.)
OL – Nick Kidwell, James Madison (RS Jr., OL – Knoxville, Md.)
LS – Kyle Davis, James Madison (Gr., LS – Waxhaw, N.C.)
Second Team
DL – Isaac Ukwu, James Madison (RS Sr., DL – Upper Marlboro, Md.)
Third Team
KR – Solomon Vanhorse, James Madison (RS Jr., KR – Alpharetta, Ga.)
2022 PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT SELECTIONS
First Team
WR – Kris Thornton, James Madison (RS Sr., WR – Manassas, Va.)