The Louisville Cardinals have added the James Madison Dukes to their 2022 football schedule, according to a report by the Daily News-Record.
Louisville will host James Madison at Cardinal Stadium on Nov. 5, 2022. The Cardinals will pay the Dukes a $600,000 guarantee for the game, JMU associate athletic director Kevin White told the DN-R.
“They’re in the ACC, which is one of the best conferences in the country,” White said. “They’ve had a Heisman Trophy winner, and I think anytime you have an opportunity to play that caliber of football, it only helps your program.”
Louisville and James Madison have never met on the gridiron.
James Madison is a perennial Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) powerhouse. The Dukes have seven conference titles and two national championships (2004 and 2016). Last season, the Dukes fell to North Dakota State 17-13 in the FCS National Championship.
The addition of James Madison tentatively completes Louisville’s non-conference schedule for the 2022 season. The Cardinals are also scheduled to play at UCF on Sept. 17, host USF on Sept. 24, and close out the season against in-state rival Kentucky at home on Nov. 26.
Louisville now has a non-conference game scheduled against a team from the FCS through the 2023 season. Opponents set to visit Cardinal Stadium include Indiana State (2018), Eastern Kentucky (2019, 2021), Murray State (2020, 2023), and James Madison (2022).
Future Louisville Football Schedules
So, Louisville will start 2022 w/2 ACC games? based on the template here….
Or an ACC game and an off week. Or one of the non-conference games could be moved to Week 1 or 2.
It could be argued that in 2022 they could be playing the best FCS team and two of the best Group of 5 teams, at least as of 2018. Kentucky just could be the weakest out of conference team they play in 2022, although Kentucky had a nice season in 2017.
One FCS team every year thru 2023? C’mon now Louisville, you can do better than that. I can see one here and there but every year for the next six seasons is a bit much.