Sport | Multi-sport |
---|---|
First meeting | October 29, 2011 (football) ODU 23 – JMU 20 |
Latest meeting | October 28, 2023 (football) JMU 30 – ODU 27 |
Stadiums | Bridgeforth Stadium, S.B. Ballard Stadium, Atlantic Union Bank Center, Chartway Arena |
Trophy | Crown |
Statistics | |
All-time series | James Madison leads, 2–0 |
Trophy series | Royal Rivalry Trophy |
Largest victory | James Madison, 16.5–7.5 (2022–23) |
Longest win streak | James Madison, 2 (2022–present) |
Current win streak | James Madison, 2 (2022–present) |
The Royal Rivalry refers to the college rivalry games between the James Madison Dukes and the Old Dominion Monarchs of the Sun Belt Conference. It is an intra-conference match-up between two Div. I FBS public universities, James Madison University and Old Dominion University, in the state of Virginia.
Both schools began sports competitions in the early 1970s as former Division II in-state opponents. The competitions intensified when both schools competed as full members of the Colonial Athletic Association (now known as the Coastal Athletic Association) following ODU's move to the conference in 1991. This undeclared in-state rivalry would last just over 20 years before ODU relocated to Conference USA in 2014 to become a member of the FBS. JMU remained in the CAA as a FCS member and still competed with ODU in sports outside of football. In 2022, both schools joined the Sun Belt Conference. [1]
Following the conference relocation for both schools, ODU and JMU announced the TowneBank-sponsored Royal Rivalry Challenge. [2] Starting in 2022, it would include all 20 head-to-head matchups in sports between the schools with points awarded to each school for corresponding victories in the games. [3] Each school is awarded one point per game won and half of a point per game tied. The yearly winner is to be awarded the Royal Rivalry Trophy, resembling a crown-shaped plaque. [4]
Sport | All-time series record | Last result | Next meeting | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men's Basketball | ODU leads 58–33 | JMU won 78–63 on February 3, 2024 | 01/22/25 at ODU | [5] |
Women's Basketball | ODU leads 52–29 | JMU won 70–58 on March 1, 2024 | 02/01/25 at ODU | [6] |
Football | Tied 2–2 | JMU won 30–27 on October 29, 2023 | 11/16/24 at ODU | [7] |
Men's Soccer | JMU leads 20–13–8 | JMU won 3–1 on October 18, 2023 | 11/05/24 at ODU | [8] |
The Old Dominion and James Madison football programs began competing in 2011 when ODU joined the CAA as an FCS independent after restarting football in 2009. Following ODU's departure from the CAA in 2012, the two schools took nearly a ten-year hiatus from football matchups before they both joined the Sun Belt in 2022. The football rivalry was restarted in the 2022 Div. I FBS football season where both schools competed in the 2022 Oyster Bowl, with the Dukes beating the Monarchs for the first time 37–3.
James Madison currently plays their football games at Bridgeforth Stadium; Old Dominion at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
James Madison victories | Old Dominion victories | Tie games |
No. | Date | Location | Winning team | Losing team | Series | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | October 29, 2011 | Foreman Field | #15 (FCS) Old Dominion | 23 | #9 (FCS) James Madison | 20 | Old Dominion 1–0 |
2 | November 17, 2012 | Bridgeforth Stadium | #4 (FCS) Old Dominion | 38 | #13 (FCS) James Madison | 28 | Old Dominion 2–0 |
3 | November 12, 2022 | S.B. Ballard Stadium | James Madison | 37 | Old Dominion | 3 | Old Dominion 2–1 |
4 | October 28, 2023 | Bridgeforth Stadium | #25 James Madison | 30 | Old Dominion | 27 | Tied 2–2 |
5 | November 16, 2024 | S.B. Ballard Stadium |
During their tenures in the CAA, ODU defeated JMU in 4 conference tournament championships. JMU holds their basketball games at Atlantic Union Bank Center; ODU at Chartway Arena.
Old Dominion victories | James Madison victories |
|
JMU holds their basketball games at Atlantic Union Bank Center; ODU at Chartway Arena.
Old Dominion victories | James Madison victories |
|
James Madison leads the all-time series in soccer 20–13–8.
Old Dominion victories | James Madison victories | Tie games |
|
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The 14 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed across the Southern United States.
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states, from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universities, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond. The CAA was historically a Southern conference until the addition of four schools in the Northeastern United States after the turn of the 21st century, which added geographic balance to the conference.
Bridgeforth Stadium is a football stadium located on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The stadium is home to the James Madison Dukes football team. The playing surface is named Zane Showker Field.
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The Old Dominion Monarchs football program represents Old Dominion University in U.S. college football. The first iteration of the team created in 1930 was known as the William & Mary Norfolk Division Braves. Founded in 2009, the current Monarchs team competed as an FCS independent for their first two seasons. In the 2011 season, they joined the Colonial Athletic Association and added conference games to their schedule, playing there until joining the Conference USA of the FBS in 2014. They joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2022.
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