The Dukes played their first season in 1972 and were coached by Challace McMillin until 1984. Madison moved from NCAA Division III to NCAA Division I-AA in 1980 and would join what is now the Colonial Athletic Association’s football conference in 1993 (at the time it was an independent entity known as the Yankee Conference). The football team’s popularity grew with the addition of Mickey Matthews in 1999, who in 2004 led JMU to their first National Championship, defeating Montana by a score of 31–21 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Since that time, the Dukes have proven to be one of the more formidable teams in all of FCS football.