The Salem native just guided James Madison to its best men's basketball record in program history, 32-4.

Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 14 points and James Madison pulled off the first 12-5 upset of the NCAA Tournament by beating Wisconsin 72-61.

The Dukes dominated Arkansas State in what proved to be their 31st win of the season.

Let’s take a look back at some of the top stories from 2023 across our region.

JMU Football will play in the Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 23 at 3p.m.

The 11-1 Dukes will play in its first ever bowl game this season.

The Dukes are off to a 7-0 start this season, 4-0 thus far in Sun Belt Conference play.

Jordan McCloud hit Kaelon Black with a 10-yard tuchdown pass with 55 seconds to play, capping a fourth-quarter rally and James Madison beat Virginia 36-35, spoiling the Cavaliers’ first home game since three players were fatally shot last November.

The JMU Dukes will travel to Scott Stadium for the “UVA Strong” football game matchup, the first home game set to be played since the shooting last November.

Staff at James Madison University confirm the teacher shot in the chest by a 6-year-old student this week is an alumna of the university.

As part of the latest extension, Cignetti will also have one year automatically added to his contract by achieving eight wins against FBS opponents in any season during the length of the contract.

James Madison University softball player, Lauren Bernett passed away last week. Her death is shedding a light on mental health concerns for student-athletes and people everywhere.

The James Madison Softball Coaching Staff has released a statement following a tragic loss in the JMU community.

The death of a James Madison softball star has been classified as an apparent suicide, but Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson said Wednesday that an investigation into the death is continuing.

James Madison University announced Tuesday that one of their own has passed away.

The Hoos and the Dukes are set to play against each other during the 2023 football season.

James Madison decided Saturday to pursue a move to the Sun Belt Conference despite being told by the Colonial Athletic Association that it will be barred from participating in CAA championships before its actual departure.

JMU’s Cinderella season came to a conclusion Monday evening at the hands of Oklahoma, losing 7-1.

Unseeded James Madison lost to no.1 seed Oklahoma in the first game of the Women’s College World Series semifinals on Sunday.

JMU is 2-0 in the CWS, advancing to the semifinals.

The Dukes defeated #5 Oklahoma State, 2-1.

One game in and JMU pulled off a stunning upset in the Women’s College World Series on Thursday afternoon.

The Dukes outscored the Bearkats 24-0 in the second quarter. But the Bearkats returned the favor in the third quarter, outscoring the Dukes 28-3.

The Dukes tallied 468 yards of total offense in the 34-21 victory.

VMI lost to No. 1 JMU in the first round of the 2021 FCS playoffs Saturday afternoon, 31-24.

The sports club also handed out Sports Legends awards to long-time coach and broadcaster, Paul Bernard and former Salem head basketball coach, Charlie Morgan.

The Keydets claimed the Southern Conference title this season for the first time since 1977.

At Cave Spring Suzanne Harris heads to JMU for swimming and Zada Porter will play hoops at Appy State. Porter said she always felt like Appalachian State would be home, ever since here first visit as an eighth grader. “Mostly App State was for the coaching staff. Of course every school tries to make you feel like family, but for App State I always had an idea they would be the place I called home next,” Porter says. “I don’t have to worry about my parents paying for college first and that I get to play basketball for another 4 years is something that’s another relief for me,” Anderson says.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – JMU men’s basketball team announced on Wednesday that they’re getting a new look this year. Between a new arena and a new head coach, 2020 looks like a year of change for the Dukes. Mark Byington, JMU’s new men’s basketball coach who graduated from Salem High School, is a local to the area. Lookout and see leaves changing, haven’t seen that in a while.”On Wednesday, the university also unveiled its new state-of-the-art basketball arena. The Atlantic Union Bank Center will host both men’s and women’s basketball, their offices, practice facilities, weight room and a capacity of 8,500 fans.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Officials said an investigation was underway into the cause of an explosion and large fire at a shopping center in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Saturday morning that injured several people. Three people were hospitalized as a result of the incident that was reported around 8:30 a.m., the Daily News-Record reported, and several others were injured but treated on-site. Ralph Northam tweeted that state emergency personnel had been deployed to the area after what he called a gas explosion. — Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) October 17, 2020Tobia said when crews arrived, the injured were outside of the building. The building where the blast occurred was about 30 yards (27 meters) from the race’s start and finish line, the school said.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – After nearly two weeks of temporary online classes, JMU is planning to bring students back to campus soon. JMU announced on Friday that school officials are currently finalizing plans to resume in-person classes on Oct. 5. Students began moving into on-campus housing on Aug. 21 and hybrid classes started on Aug. 26. JMU also said it is limiting the number of students in a class to 50 people for in-person classrooms. However, testing will be initially focused on on-campus students and they will not be testing students prior to returning to the classroom.

HARRISONBURG, Va. James Madison University will temporarily transition to online learning with few exceptions through the month of September. In a statement released Tuesday, university president Jonathan Alger said most in-person classes will transition online by Monday. JMU initially started the academic year with a mix of in-person, hybrid and online classes. We spent the last several months planning to start this year with a mix of in-person, hybrid, and online classes. In-person classes will transition online no later than this coming Monday, Sept. 7.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – With more of an emphasis on the health and safety and student-athletes, personnel and campus environment, James Madison Athletics has announced the suspension of competition for all Fall sport programs. The suspension was made in coordination with other Colonial Athletic Association institutions that were previously still pursuing fall competition: College of Charleston, Elon and UNCW. JMU initially elected to proceed with carrying out a plan to return-to-play in alignment with the NCAA championship calendar. As the national picture came into focus over the last week, it became clear that Fall competition would not be possible. If we can do that, we’ll be back to sport competition in the near future.

James Madison Hall of Fame baseball coach Brad Babcock, who amassed a program-record 558 wins in 19 seasons and guided the Dukes to the 1983 College World Series, passed away on Tuesday at age 81. Babcock was inducted into the JMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 after a 558-249-4 career record, and the 1983 squad became the second team inducted in department history in 2016. Brad Babcock is a true JMU legend, both in his role as baseball head coach and as a long-time administrator, Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne said. He built JMU baseball to one of the pre-eminent programs in the CAA and the region with a blueprint for success that remains today. As baseball coach, Babcock took the Dukes from a fledgling second-year program in 1971 to being one of the more highly-respected programs in the East.

University leaders say degrees will be conferred on time in May and diplomas will be mailed this summer, in accordance with the standard university process. (1/4) — JMU (@JMU) March 18, 2020ORIGINAL STORYAnother local university is adjusting operations during the new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Starting on March 23, university officials say most classes will be held online until at least April 5. The university will stay open to provide student services, including those provided by the University Health Center and Counseling Center. University officials say there will be another update by at least March 27 regarding the plan of action after April 5.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Courtesy of Virginia Athletics:Virginia (2-0) outscored JMU (1-1) 34-11 in the second half to cruise to a 65-34 win in the home opener at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday evening. Two players finished with double-doubles for the second game in a row as Mamadi Diakite (Conakry, Guinea, Africa) had a career-high 19 points and 13 rebounds along with two blocked shots. Virginia closed the half on a 15-6 run to lead 31-23 at the break. Key scored the first seven points of the second half. UVA held JMU scoreless for 6:12 in that span and allowed just four field goals in the second half.