📍 Harrisonburg, Virginia
🏀 Home of James Madison Dukes basketball

After decades playing at an aging Convocation Center, James Madison University’s basketball teams finally got a much-needed boost in 2020 with a move to the new on-campus Atlantic Union Bank Center, a world-class facility that is a game-changer for both the Dukes and their loyal purple and gold fanbase.

With seating for up 8,500 fans, the Atlantic Union Bank Center is a spectacularly comfortable venue that still manages to place folks right up on the action, creating an intimidating atmosphere. The student section, called the Electric Zoo, is particularly raucous. Walkways above the upper deck allows for fans to mingle, and drink rails all around provide lots of standing room opportunities. Overall, the arena’s bold design elements make clear that this is really a facility for the future.

JMU men’s basketball started play at the Division II level in 1969, coming up to DI as a founding member of the Colonial (now Coastal) Athletic Association in 1979. In 2022, the Dukes moved to the competitive Sun Belt Conference. The men’s team has won their conference tournament nearly half a dozen times, appearing on 8 occasions in an NCAA Tournament across both Divisions I and II, and over the years, the Dukes have been led by powerful coaches like program-building legend Lefty Driesell. The women, meanwhile, have shown even more promise with 13 March Madness appearances under their belt, including four runs to the Sweet Sixteen. Both programs established themselves as top dogs in the CAA and that prowess has certainly carried over to the Sun Belt, where they’ve continued to dominate their respective opposition.

Beyond the on-court product, the university’s investment in the Atlantic Union Bank Center has only brought good things to the city of Harrisonburg. In addition to much more engaging crowds turning out for men’s and women’s basketball, folks are also showing up for concerts and other events that pass through. Now one of the premier venues in the entire Shenandoah Valley corridor, the Atlantic Union Bank Center is emblematic of a school on the rise.