James Madison has rescheduled its date with North Carolina.
The Dukes and Tar Heels will play in 2028 at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., JMU assistant athletic director Kevin Warner told the Daily News-Record on Saturday.
This past Friday JMU suspended its 2020 fall football campaign, eliminating the contest originally set between the two sides for this coming Sept. 19.
The decision the Dukes made to suspend their fall season came after the NCAA FCS postseason appeared less and less likely to happen as numerous conferences across the subdivision, including the Colonial Athletic Association, canceled its respective seasons. JMU along with the CAA and most of the FCS will explore holding a competitive season in the spring as long as the coronavirus allows for it.
Securing a 2028 matchup with the Tar Heels gives JMU – to this point – five games with FBS foes over the next eight years.
JMU will also play at North Carolina on Sept. 21, 2024 and has lined up other trips to Louisville (Nov. 5, 2022), Virginia Tech (Sept. 20, 2025) and Liberty (Oct. 31, 2026).
Since 2007, JMU and UNC have played three times. The two schools last met in 2016.
With the Dukes unable to play this fall, the Atlantic Coast Conference Tar Heels filled their Sept. 19 vacancy with Conference USA member Charlotte.
Amos, Atariwa Headed To U.Va.
On Sunday, former James Madison safety D’Angelo Amos and former Dukes defensive tackle Adeeb Atariwa were officially added to the roster at the University of Virginia.
As graduate transfers they’ll be immediately eligible for the Cavaliers, who open their season on Sept. 11 at home against VMI.
On Friday, Atariwa told the Daily News-Record he opted to enter the transfer portal after the Dukes decided they wouldn’t open their training camp as originally planned.
“It’s been really hard to make this decision,” he said then, “just because I have loyalty to JMU and I have been there for four years, but it’s something I felt I needed to do.”
Last season, Atariwa racked up 52 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a quarterback hurry, a pass breakup and a blocked kick with the Dukes.
Amos, this past Wednesday, decided to explore his options for similar reasons and said by playing elsewhere this fall his NFL Draft stock can stay the same or improve.
“It’s not something I wanted to walk away from [JMU] or anything like that,” Amos said.