Kickoff times and network designations for James Madison first two football games and its Tuesday night road game in late October have been unveiled by ESPN and the Sun Belt Conference.
The Dukes open the 2025 season at Bridgeforth Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 30 when it hosts Weber State out of the Big Sky Conference in a 6 p.m. kickoff on ESPN+. JMU is 3-0 all-time against WSU, including 2-0 in Harrisonburg, but this marks Weber’s first trip to JMU during the regular season.
Six days later on Friday, Sept. 5, JMU travels to ACC foe Louisville for a 7 p.m. game that will be nationally televised on ESPN2. It’s JMU’s second meeting ever against the Cardinals, with the inaugural matchup occurring in the Dukes’ first FBS season in 2022.
JMU closes the month of October with its longest road trip of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 28, when it faces Texas State in San Marcos, Texas. The second-ever meeting between the squads will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Also, Liberty and Conference USA announced that JMU’s week-four showdown on Saturday, Sept. 20 in Lynchburg will start at 6 p.m. with network designation to be determined 12 days prior to kickoff.
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Earlier on Thursday, the Sun Belt announced that the Sun Belt Football Championship Game will move to Friday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. and be nationally televised on ESPN. The game was initially slated for a Saturday kickoff.
Remaining 2025 game times and network designations will be announced by ESPN and the Sun Belt on Mondays, 12 days prior to each game. This year marks the 14th straight season all Sun Belt home games will appear on an ESPN platform.
Click here for the full 2025 JMU football schedule. Single-game tickets for all regular-season home games go on sale to Duke Club members on Monday, June 30 while general public ticket sales begin on Monday, July 7.
JAMES MADISON RADIO AND TV COVERAGE
Followers of James Madison Athletics, members of JMU Nation, have numerous ways to keep up with all the action. Click here for the Dukes’ full listing of live event coverage.
JMU Sports on ESPN
As a member of the Sun Belt Conference, James Madison athletic competitions appear on the ESPN family of networks, with most contests appearing on the ESPN+ streaming platform via JMU Sports Network coverage. Select games, primarily in football and basketball, can appear on the ESPN family of linear networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU).
Information about access to ESPN+ and purchasing subscriptions is available at plus.espn.com. Viewers are recommended to install the ESPN app on eligible devices.
