Last week James Madison University hosted ESPN’s College GameDay before the Dukes' home football game against Villanova. WMRA's Dillon Broadwell was there for the fun.
As the ESPN bus pulled on to the quad Thursday afternoon, JMU students made sure the College GameDay crew knew they made the right choice to host their Saturday morning broadcast at the Football Championship Subdivision school.
This reception kicked off the pre-game festivities for the game against Villanova. It was the second visit to JMU by College Game Day, but this time, it was a bit different for the #1 ranked FCS school.
KEVIN WARNER: Two years ago we had to do a little bit more selling of, this is what JMU is all about, this is what we can deliver, this is our spirit, and this is the story of our team and why we are relevant.
Kevin Warner is JMU’s assistant athletic director for communications. He says the GameDay attention doesn’t just reflect the success of the football program but also creates some healthy competition between the school's athletic teams.
WARNER: And what you see happening is, you get a College GameDay in 2015, at the same time you see softball competing at the national level, you see women’s basketball winning championships and everyone is kinda like: Well, this team is winning, I want to win. Athletes are competitive and that is on the playing field against their opponent but is also with each other in the department.
According to Harrisonburg’s Mayor Deanna Reed, this wasn't just a JMU event but an event for the whole community.
MAYOR DEANNA REED: We’re all involved. It’s just not a JMU event. It’s definitely city, community and students. So, I’m excited.
And ESPN staff made it clear that community support is one reason why the nationwide broadcast returned to Rocktown. Lee Fitting, Vice President of College Sports at ESPN and a JMU alum, said the return visit is a testament to the growth of both the school and the city.
LEE FITTING: It’s awesome. The town has really exploded and taken off. It’s different from where I was here. There were very few, and I don’t mean this as a knock, there were very few reasons to leave campus when I was here and now you get the combination of an unbelievable, vibrant, awesome campus and a sort of happening downtown and community. And that’s awesome you can say that about the school.
ESPN analyst David Pollack said the response for this second visit is a real indicator of community support, especially compared to the only other FCS school that has received two visits by the GameDay crew.
DAVID POLLACK: I’m gonna have to judge it after this time. Because, the first time I think everybody wants to show up because you don’t think it will ever happen again. So, JMU has to represent this time. We’ll have to see the second time around because Fargo brought it twice and we’ll see what you got JMU.
And Harrisonburg showed up -- not only the fans, but the team did as well as the Dukes beat Villanova, 30 to 8.