No. 20 Virginia Tech takes down No. 19 Duke
Virginia Tech won the game 74-67. (Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP, Pool)BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech played with a high level of intensity of both ends of the floor Tuesday night on its way to a 74-67 victory over Duke. Virginia Tech also stepped up on defense by forcing 12 turnovers and turning them into 13 points. Duke fought hard in the second half behind a strong performance from Jeremy Roach who led with a game-high 22 points. “I was pleased with their, you know, their patience there,” said Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young.
JMU men’s basketball unveils new arena and local head coach Wednesday
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.
James Madison University suspends fall sports competition
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.
JMU cancels fall football season, hoping to play in the spring
HARRISONBURG, Va. There will be no football in 2020 at James Madison University. On Friday, the university announced that it has suspended its fall football season, with hopes of a spring season. James Madison has suspended its fall football season & turns focus to hopeful FCS spring campaign.#GoDukeshttps://t.co/uaJlNS9Wv5 pic.twitter.com/dp47vWRhtD JMU Football (@JMUFootball) August 7, 2020In July, when the CAA, the conference in which JMU plays, announced its fall football season was canceled, JMU said it was still planning to play fall football. The CAA is planning to have a spring football season. As of Friday afternoon, greater than 50 percent of FCS institutions have postponed their fall football season.
JMU Hall of Fame baseball coach Brad Babcock passes away
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.