NEW ORLEANS (JMU Athletics) – Reigning Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball champion James Madison will begin its title defense with an 18-game 2024-25 league schedule, which was unveiled by the conference office on Thursday afternoon.

JMU will open SBC play with a road tilt at South Alabama on Dec. 21, before opening the 2025 with home matchups against Southern Miss (Jan. 2) and a conference tournament title rematch with Arkansas State (Jan. 4).

The matchup between the Dukes and Golden Eagles will be the first matchup between the two programs in Harrisonburg, while A-State will visit The Friendly City for the first time since Dec. 20, 1993.

The Dukes will play home-and-home matchups with Marshall (H: Jan. 16, A: Jan. 9), App State (H: Jan. 18, A: Jan. 11), Old Dominion (H: Feb. 1, A: Jan. 22), Coastal Carolina (H: Jan. 30, A: Feb. 15), Georgia State (H: Feb. 20, A: Jan. 25), and Georgia Southern (H: Feb. 22, A: Feb. 13) as part of the 18-game schedule.

First-time trips to Sun Belt West foes ULM (Feb. 25) and Texas State (Feb. 28) will close out the regular season for JMU. The Dukes will also welcome Troy to the Atlantic Union Bank Center for the first time on Feb. 5.

The Sun Belt Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will take place from Tuesday, March 4, to Monday, March 10, at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla. All 14 teams qualify for the event.

JMU’s 2024-25 conference schedule can be found at JMUSports.com. The full non-conference schedule along with game times will be announced at a later date.

— JMU Athletics —