What’s New for JMU Football Game Days in 2025?

HARRISONBURG, Va. – With the 2025 season right around the corner, James Madison Athletics will have a number of updates in effect for home football games at Bridgeforth Stadium. JMU is coming off its first bowl victory, was predicted to win the Sun Belt East in the conference preseason poll and will host one of the most attractive home schedules in program history.

Here's what's new for the 2025 football season:

New Premium Spaces
JMU Athletics seeks to continuously enhance the game day experience at Bridgeforth Stadium. New for 2025, the university has added four field-level suites in the South End Zone, near the Plecker Athletics Performance Center. Additionally, sections 4 and 5 on the East Side of the stadium have been upgraded to a new premium, chairback seating section. These enhancements follow other recent additions, such as two cabana suites in the Northeast corner of field level as well as a field-level standing room premium area on the East Side towards the South end.

Bridgeforth Stadium New Premium 2025

Parking Changes
New for 2025, if kickoff for JMU Saturday home games will occur after 6 p.m. reserved parking lots will not open until noon. Previously, reserved lots opened at 8 a.m. regardless of kickoff time. This change is to better allocate resources aligned with customer data and industry best practice. Note that the Weber State opening game on Aug. 30 is at 6 p.m., therefore lots open at 8 a.m. However, if any subsequent games are selected by ESPN for a kickoff after 6 p.m., reserved lots would open at noon. This protocol does not apply to future midweek games, which follow an entirely different schedule in order to accommodate campus academic operations.

Also new in 2025, K Lot (adjacent to 1050 S. Main St.) has been converted to a reserved parking lot. K Lot offers close proximity to Bridgeforth Stadium via the Bluestone area of campus.

JMU Bookstore Game Day Round-Up
On home football game days, JMU Bookstore customers now have the opportunity to "round up" their purchase. These additional proceeds benefit JMU student-athlete opportunities by supporting the Duke Club's Annual Fund, which supports scholarships and the overall department operating budget.

New Concessions Offering: Champions Philly
JMU's concessions operator, Aramark, has added a new menu option with the "Champions Philly" sandwich with $1 of all sales of this new item going to the JMU Duke Club to benefit student-athlete scholarships.

New Field Sponsorship – JMU School of Professional and Continuing Education
As announced yesterday, JMU Athletics and its corporate partnerships entity JMU Sports Properties (LEARFIELD), entered an agreement with the JMU School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE) that includes a significant investment with on-field sponsorship.

SPCE_FieldLogoWeb

In-game experience Enhancement
Bridgeforth Stadium offers the best game day experience in college football, and JMU strives to improve that experience each season. The use of in-game pyrotechnics has been enhanced with additional field-level CO2 towers to be used with the team introduction as well as for JMU touchdowns.

Guest Assist Enhancement
JMU Athletics will use a new guest assist contact method for immediate fan response in venue. Guests can call or text 540-568-4381 beginning at 8 a.m. on game day to report a concern in real time.

North End Zone General Admission Adjustments
A great amount of stadium energy comes from the North End Zone seating area, which is often comprised of JMU students. These sections have experienced overcrowding due to the number of guests wishing to be in this seating area. In order to address crowd capacity issues, new protocol will be in place using hand stamps to manage access to sections and monitoring safe capacity in each section. There will also be a new portable toilets available in the North End Zone to better meet demand for this area of the stadium.

All guests are encouraged to review the full list of game day policies in the comprehensive guide on JMUSports.com.

Tickets Available
Single-game tickets for JMU football games, including the August. 30 season opener vs. Weber State, are available at JMUSports.com. The Family Weekend game vs. Georgia Southern is the only game completely sold out of public tickets at this time. Student tickets are available to be claimed on Tuesday at 9:20 a.m., 11 days prior to a Saturday home game. Student Duke Club members have advanced access to claim tickets on Monday at 9 a.m.