The Breeze homecoming edition October 26, 2023
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What’s inside... 4 6 8
Welcome home events
Three-eyed pig loses in 1991 mascot coup
Phys. Ed. program has perfect success rate
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Behind the mask: Duke Dogs’ alter egos
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Increased crime expected for Hoco-Halloweekend
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Dukes and Monarchs face off in Royal Rivalry
‘welcome to wonderland’ STAFF
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Where to have outdoor fun this Homecoming weekend By EVAN MOODY The Breeze
JMU’s 2023 Homecoming provides an opportunity for students and alumni to sport purple and gold among the red, yellow and green fall foliage. For those looking to take their festivities outdoors, The Breeze compiled a list of activities for Dukes to enjoy.
Harri nburg Duk es Homecominso g Golf Tourna ment
t JMU Flea Marke
Th e 24 th an nu al H om ec om in Tournament is an g Go lf opportunity for stu dents and alums to blow off steam from the wo rk week in the beauty of the Va lle on Friday from 11 y. The event will take place a.m. to 5 p.m. at Sp otswood Country Club, a co nvenient 12-minute drive from campus. Players ca n expect a “Captai n’s Choice” to ur na m en t an d an aw ards re ce pt io n an d raffle, with procee ds going to the Ha rriso chapter’s Valley St udent Scholarship nburg s at JMU. Registration is av ailable on the JM U Association webs ite with varying pr Alumni ices, and a barbeque dinner is included. If compe ting in crisp fall atmosphere isn’t enough of an inc the each player will re entive, ceive a gift for parti cipating in this fundraising cla ssic.
of th e an d th e stres so rs ed to Proj ec ts, ex am s in nf co l e students fee r the fo y semester can mak tel na rtu Fo y. gs all da ket ar m academic buildin a fle ly JMU’s month studious laborers, patio on Thursday in the ion t will go returns to the Un ing week. The even om ec m Ho of st id nity to m rtu po op an is d . an from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m tage seasonal wear and th vin resupply closets wi . If you want to experience ks ac kn ick kn self-care a look for etic while perfecting at place sth ae l fal ’s ea ar e th gre a is t en ev e fre , the the week’s activities ting student-only vendors. or to begin while supp
April Weber / The Breeze
QuadFest will offer e Quad, QuadFest Located on, well, th carnival d an h ot bo DJ, a photo fo r th e free food, music, a e ni w re tu rn ho m ac tiv iti es. As al um tter place for expressing be weekend, there’s no ng among the fallen leaves gli in m d an t iri sp people Duke campus. Leading all than on JMU’s main s Marching Royal Dukes, ou in spirit are the fam and JMU cheer team. The m Dukettes dance tea from 5:30 ll take place Friday event is free and wi p.m. to 8 p.m.
Graphics
/ The Breeze by Morgan Blair
TOP: The flea market, which happens on the Union patio monthly, is on Thursday during Homecoming week and offers students the opportunity to buy clothes and knick-knacks from other students. LEFT: The annual QuadFest offers students free food, music, carnival activities and more, including performaces by the Marching Royal Dukes.
Breeze file phot o
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15th Annual Harvest Festival Can’t seem to shake that fall festival feeling? Continue partying into the weekend with the 15th Annual Harvest Festival on Saturday. When it comes to spending time outdoors while remaining within campus limits, the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum is second to none in terms of fall foliage and an autumnal aesthetic. From the ducks to the array of vegetation and walking trails, there isn’t a more mystic spot to find your Harrisonburg home once again. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be complete with games, crafts, storytime and a book signing with Ginny Neil (’83). For those looking to avoid the chaos of the football game, the cool breeze throughout the pines of the arboretum is sure to offer a peaceful escape.
Shenandoah National Park Being just half an hour from Harrisonburg, it’s difficult to discuss fall activities without mentioning Shenandoah National Park. The park will have events scattered throughout JMU Homecoming week, when students and alums can view the beauty of nature. Complete with a trip along the picturesque Skyline Drive, hiking and camping opportunities await Dukes within the Blue Ridge Mountains, adorned with red, yellow and green foliage. While many can attribute their JMU decision based on the surrounding area, just one hike on Bearfence Rock Scramble can remind alumni of the Valley’s beauty.
Kaiden Bridges/ The Breeze The Shenandoah National Park, which is half an hour away from Harrisonburg, offers picturesque views and a smattering of events throughout the fall, including during Homecoming. If you want something closer to the ‘Burg, the 15th Annual Harvest Festival offers a chance to enjoy outdoor activities while remaining on campus with it taking place in the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum.
HLLOWEEN Trunk or Treat JMU’s Homecoming falls on “Halloweekend,” making it difficult to celebrate one festivity without the other. For those looking to embrace their spookiness ahead of Halloween on Tuesday, head to Side 2 of Purcell Park on Saturday. The annual event will be held from 2 p.m to 5 p.m. and will feature a scary array of music, games and contests, along with decorations, candied-out trunks and ghoul-like entertainment for students, alumni and families to enjoy. If the festivities aren’t quite your fright, pickleball courts and a 1.5-mile walking trail can also be found in the 67-acre park.
Ryan Sauer / The Breeze
CONTACT Evan Moody at thebreezeculture@gmail.com. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.
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Duke Dog or a three-eyed pig? Over 30 years later, alumnus reflects on controversial school prank
ls ou Ben M
e
Duke Dog: The smiling, purple-caped canine who is a prime symbol of the university since his creation in 1972. He has become synonymous with tailgates, football games and JMU Athletics. But what if he had been replaced? In October 1991, Kembrew McLeod (’93) faced a final project for his open-studio art class. With the permission, and warning, of his professor, McLeod designed and marketed a new JMU mascot — a three-eyed pig with antlers — with the intention of forming a satirical campaign pretending to advocate for replacing Duke Dog. Much to McLeod’s surprise, the prospect of such an unconventional new mascot garnered attention from his fellow students. “I truly didn’t think it would spin out of control and snowball the way that it did,” McLeod said. Despite the joking nature of the movement, McLeod, now the chairman of the Department of Communications Studies at the University of Iowa, said he intended to make social commentary with the project, in an attempt to shed light on what he called “blind embrace of symbols.” At the time of the prank, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in the wake of the Gulf War that the First Amendment protected flag-burning in the 1989 case Texas v. Johnson. To that end, replacing it should have been no surprise that the prospect of removing Duke Dog would cause such an uproar. Once students caught wind of the movement, the majority of the student body swarmed to Duke Dog’s defense. Among the loudest dissenters was former JMU President Ronald Carrier.
/T he Breeze
By JACK FOSTER The Breeze
“He hated me,” McLeod said with a laugh. McLeod recalled his graduation, when Carrier said, “I believe Kembrew McLeod enrolled at James Madison University just to torment me.” McLeod’s response: “Every court needs a jester.” Later that year, at the Homecoming football game, the Marching Royal Dukes spelled out “we love the Duke Dog” among the tubas. There was also reportedly an effigy of the three-eyed pig ripped to shreds in the crowd. McLeod also noticed the media coverage of the story.
One October edition of The Breeze put the story on the front page, while a story about a JMU graduate being shot went to the interior of the paper. The story of the attempt to change the mascot caught so much wind that outside news outlets took notice. A Halloween rally, which happened to be on McLeod’s birthday, to garner support for the three-eyed pig was covered by television crews from ABC and NBC. Dressed as the fictional animal, McLeod spoke to reporters, fabricating claims such as “the antlers represent multiculturalism.” To McLeod’s shock, both NBC and ABC aired that very quote on their evening television broadcasts. McLeod told another reporter from the Roanoke Times that the three-eyed pig originated from the hallucination of a woman on LSD at a nudist party, and the pig was “a pagan symbol of sexuality and fertility.” This story was then included in the Times’ article covering the pig. In an effort to push the prank as far as he could, McLeod employed his roommate, Student Government Commuter Terry Harrison, to introduce a bill to the Student Government Association (SGA) in order to change the mascot. Although Harrison introduced the bill, the SGA immediately tabled it and never put it to a vote. Despite McLeod’s antics, Duke Dog has remained a beloved icon part of the athletic and student life experience. While there will probably not be an attempt to replace him again, the story of the three-eyed pig with antlers can remind us of the creativity and spirit that JMU students have. CONTACT Jack Foster at foste2jr@dukes.jmu.edu. For more sports coverage, follow the sports desk on X @TheBreezeSports.
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McLeod created a website to detail the events over his controversial scheme.
3), the Kembrew McL eo d (’9 uke D og ’s mastermind behind D re e-eyed potential ousting, a th his efforts pig w ith antlers, to ok r media to The Breeze and othe of Duke outlets as the traction ntinue d to D og ’s replacement co d wrote snow ball. W hile McL eo udents letters to the editor, st ving the who belie ve d in pres er to JMU ’s belove d pup also to ok hopes to student newspap er in ard. make the other side he
Students who wante d to keep mascot to Duke Dog ok to the as JMU’s media just McLeod, th like Kembr e creator ew of the threecreated po eyed pig. sters in su They ppor t of te creation. rminating Courtesy of the new Terry Harri son
News stations such as NBC and ABC covered McLeod’s movement on their nightly news segments in 1991. On McLeod’s website, he included the clips created by the news outlets.
From the O
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Health teaching program sees 100% job success rate for alums By ARIANNA TAYLOR contributing writer
Physical and Health Education and Teacher Education (PHETE) coordinator Susan Nye said the program has generated thousands of graduates since the program was created while JMU was known as Madison College. PHETE is a program for students to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and then move on to a fifth-year graduate program with a master’s in teaching. After completion, students will graduate with a certification to teach physical and health education in Virginia. The program has a 100% success rate for students to find a job within six months of graduation, according to a flier distributed by PHETE. Students apply to the program in their junior year and take a variety of classes to become certified in adaptive, elementary, secondary and high school physical education, kinesiology PHETE professor Cathy McKay said.
Eleanor Shaw / The Breeze
Recent graduates applaud versatile education curriculum’s tight community To ensure students have the best educators, a requirement for the professors in the program is to have taught physical education for K-12 students, Nye said. “When we talk about content, when I say it’s real and relevant, we bring in not only our own experiences, we are still involved in the schools now,” Nye said. The program also keeps in touch with people working in the industry. “We’ve still stayed connected to teachers in the field, some of our alumni who are teachers, and we also go into the classrooms ourselves,” Nye said, “to make sure what we’re talking about applying what is in the book and making sure those theories come to life for our students.” To give students more in-person experience with teaching as well as building up their resume, PHETE visits state and national conferences and goes into classrooms in the Harrisonburg area, Nye said.
see PHETE, page 10
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PHETE professor Cathy McKay said that the program has a high employment rate after graduation because it ensures that students finish with the skills necessary to be a competitive candidate to employers. Photo illustration by Ryan Sauer / The Breeze
from PHETE, page 8
“Our classes are a really nice mix of content-based classes, where they get curriculum out of textbooks, applying that with all of our skill labs, and then [going] into schools with practical experiences and being able to student-teach,” McKay said. Nye said she supports implementing a variety of instructional practices so students are able to better grasp concepts and apply them outside of the classroom. “We pride ourselves in doing a variety of teaching practices, doing more than just direct teaching,” Nye said. “So it’s from discussions to the infusion of technology to build even the assignments [that] are kind of outside of the box.” McKay said while most people may not understand the reason for the assignments, they do serve a purpose “You might walk by a door in Godwin Hall and think, ‘Oh, they’re playing volleyball,’” McKay said. “They’re not just in there playing volleyball, they’re learning the skills to teach volleyball to K-12 students.” Nye said PHETE students are purposefully in the same classes from junior year until graduation so they feel empowered when they leave JMU. “They not only have [faculty] as a resource, but they have colleagues within the graduating classes,” Nye said Jenna McMahon Allen (’22) graduated from the PHETE program and said she enjoyed the community within it. “My professors and classmates were amazing,” McMahon Allen said. “Professors were there to give you exactly what you need so you can feel successful and confident when you’re done with your time in PHETE.” PHETE alum Stevie Gray (’08) agreed, saying, “The people that you learn from, and the
people that you learn with, bond together to make an awesome family.” PHETE has a high employment rate after graduation because the program ensures graduates have the skills necessary to be a competitive candidate to employers by building their resume and preparing for interviews, McKay said. Gray said he feels that PHETE set him up for success by preparing him to work immediately after graduation. “The professors that taught me through the PHETE program gave me so much content, information, practice and experience that I was ready to teach coming straight out of school,” Gray said. “Job readiness is something that employers are looking for right away.” Students are able to work alongside Nye and the Virginia Department of Education to edit and update the standards of learning for physical education, McKay said. They are also able to go to New Orleans with McKay to present a qualitative research project that gets published in a research journal. “Our students have these rich opportunities to put on their resumes,” McKay said. Nye’s ultimate goal for her students is for them to be able to “feel comfortable, competent and advocate for themselves to make the physical education and health experiences successful for those students they’re teaching,” she said. For McKay, the PHETE program fulfills what students come to JMU for. “They leave here impeccably professional, ready to engage and ‘be the change’ like JMU likes to say,” McKay said. “[They think], ‘I’m going to make a difference in the lives of the kids that I teach,’ and it brings us a lot of joy.” CONTACT Arianna Taylor at taylo3af@dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.
Ben Moulse / The Breeze
“Professors were there to give you exactly what you need so you can feel successful and confident when you’re done with your time in PHETE.” Jenna McMahon Allen (’22), PHETE graduate
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Former Duke Dog Matt Hoffman (‘18) said one of his favorite memories as JMU’s mascot was when he performed at the 2019 football national championship. Courtesy of Matt Hoffman
Paw prints of the past Former Duke Dogs unleash stories about hiding identity from girlfriends, freshman residents By AVERY GOODSTINE The Breeze While many think back to college football days as cheering on the team from crowded stands, Adam Wermus (’13) and Matt Hoffman (’18) remember game days from a different point of view. Rather than throwing streamers from the student section, they were down on the field cheering from behind the Duke Dog mask. As mentioned in a 2016 Breeze article about the history of Duke Dog, JMU’s mascot, the idea for it originated from Ray V. Sonner, then the director of university public affairs, and was first conceptualized in a cartoon during the men’s 1972-73 basketball season before being made into a suit for a person to wear. However, because of his wild eyes and lack of support, this version of Duke Dog was quickly discontinued. Today’s Duke Dog made his first appearance Nov. 28, 1982, during a basketball game against the Virginia Military Institute — also then the first game played in the Convocation Center. Now, more than 40 years later, Duke Dog can be seen at every basketball and football game as well as various other sporting and university events. In order to fulfill this demanding schedule, Wermus and Hoffman said there were four or five Duke Dogs at one time. With multiple Duke Dogs, they would switch during halftime at football games, Hoffman said, which means special attention has to be paid to things like how Duke Dog walks and his mannerisms. The most important thing to keep consistent, he said, was Duke Dog’s signature. Despite the time commitment Duke Dog requires, Kevin Warner, associate athletic director for communications and strategic initiatives, said third- and fourth-year Duke Dogs are eligible for a scholarship. There is no other monetary compensation.
Mascot mentality
Hoffman said he stepped into the role of Duke Dog as a freshman in August 2015 after the previous Dog tore his ACL. He had previous experience being a mascot and cheering in high school, and he said he was encouraged by two of his friends who were on the JMU cheer team to audition for Duke Dog. “It was [the] middle of August. I walked in, did a quick little skit, did some movement in the suit and a week later, I was [working] my first practice. That was pretty much it,” Hoffman said. One month after he earned the gig, Hoffman’s first event as Duke Dog was a science fair in the clubhouse of Bridgeforth Stadium. Three weeks later, he was in the suit for half of a football game. The other Dogs were “super supportive” in helping Hoffman grow into the role, he said. They helped him learn
all the innuendos, mantras and the Duke Dog signature. Hoffman was Duke Dog under three different cheer coaches — Kelly Moore from 2015-16, Amanda Hoppert from 2016-19 and Tony Morris from 2019-22 — who all emphasized different aspects of Duke Dog. Hoffman said Moore was big on the idea that Duke Dog was integral to the cheer team and its “identity.” This created a close group of Duke Dogs, Hoffman said, who remain bonded with each other today. Hoffman said Hoppert opened up a more competitive side of Duke Dog as the cheer team left the National Cheerleaders Association in 2016 and joined the Universal Cheerleaders Association. Morris focused on the community engagement aspect, Hoffman said. Morris highlighted the mentality of Duke Dog being something you have every day, not just while you’re in the suit at a football game — an aspect Hoffman said he thinks has carried over to the new Duke Dogs. Hoffman said his favorite event, and one he asked Duke Dog to be at every year, is the Parade of Champions (PoC) high school band event, which he thinks is the “best recruiting tool” for the Marching Royal Dukes (MRDs). Hoffman was suited up as Duke Dog at the event for all five years he was at JMU. “[PoC] was a 5 a.m.-to-midnight day of working with bands, working with high schoolers, performing with the Marching Royal Dukes twice, which is one of my favorite things to ever do was perform with them,” Hoffman said. Another “fantastic memory” from when he was Duke Dog, Hoffman said, was the 2018 football national championship game, when JMU lost to North Dakota State 17-13. “Trying to win a national championship was always fun,” he said. Hoffman also fondly remembers his class of five Dogs, of whom he was the youngest. Hoffman said he was lucky to be a part of that group, and they’re still friends today and enjoy seeing each other during Homecoming every year. Despite the fun times, Hoffman said getting suited up did have its downsides — mainly the heat from being inside the costume, which did cause him to pass out for three hours during the freshmen pep rally in 2017, which Hoffman recalled as being a 98 degree day with 85% humidity. The secrecy surrounding Duke Dog was also challenging, Hoffman said, because the whole marching band found out he was one after Hoffman’s name was accidentally included in an email to the band. Even still, the MRDs kept his secret. Hoffman was also a resident advisor (RA) while he was Duke Dog, so keeping that secret from his staff was difficult, he said, and ultimately, he had to tell some people. “I remember my first year of training … I disappeared during the freshman pep rally, and they were all like, ‘We didn’t see you,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I was there,’” Hoffman said. “Some of them kind of just understood right away.” Lying was the easiest way to get around it, Hoffman said.
The Duke Dogs would tell people they were marketing interns to hide the fact they were with JMU Athletics. To keep their identity hidden on the field, Hoffman said the dog house on the sideline is a place for the Dogs to hide, take the Duke Dog head off and grab some water. Hoffman also said the university support was great, and they would make sure the Duke Dogs could rest when they could. Now, Hoffman’s dubbed himself a “full-time college student,” as he works in the University of Rhode Island’s residence life department. He said he’ll carry the mascot mentality with him forever. “I think when you’re a mascot, you kind of have this mantra of you’ll support anyone that supports you,” Hoffman said. “When we got into the workforce, that passion that we had for JMU, for our alma mater, transitioned into the things that we were doing full-time … They became the passion that Duke Dog was to me now.”
Always in spirit
Adam Wermus (’13) was Duke Dog from 2011-13 and said it “was one of the coolest experiences” he’s ever had and emphasized the infectious personality the mascot has. “I just felt in my heart, like, I think I’d be the right person for this,” Wermus said, “because I just want to make people’s day and be spirited at the sporting events.” During Wermus’ time as Duke Dog, he said he asked the cheer coach to give him free range to walk around campus in the suit, which was one of his favorite things to do. Wermus said he would stand in line at D-Hall with his JACard ready to swipe in, or he would go to the physics building and derive the quadratic formula on the chalkboard. Since Wermus was an MRD before he was Duke Dog, he said it was really important to him to get back to performing at football games; specifically, he wanted to bring the MRDs and Duke Dog together. One year during alumni weekend, when previous MRDs come back to JMU and perform alongside the current MRDs, Wermus said he got the largest marching band uniform he could and ran onto the field during halftime to play trumpet with the MRDs. Muscle memory took over, and Wermus started fingering the valve combo for the “JMU Fight Song.” In order to make the whole thing come together, Wermus said he had to tell the band director he was Duke Dog, and after people saw Wermus knew how to play the fight song, the band director pulled him aside because everyone in the band was “freaking out” and wanted photos with him. Later that night, Wermus said, people were telling him how cool it was to see Duke Dog play the trumpet, and he had to pretend as if he was disappointed he wasn’t able to see it — and even now, when he comes back to visit JMU, Wermus said people still talk about it. see DUKE DOG, page 18
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Homecoming plus Halloweekend makes for likely crime uptick By LIBBY ADDISON contributing writer
This year, two JMU traditions, Halloweekend and Homecoming, will take place at the same time — something that has historically led to an uptick in Harrisonburg’s crime rate. In an Oct. 13 email, Harrisonburg Director of Communications Mike Parks said the city is aware of the threats that a HalloweenHomecoming weekend poses and is planning ahead. “We do not publish information about security plans that may render those plans ineffective,” Parks said. “We do work closely with our partners such as JMU police and the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office to prepare for and respond during events and busy weekends.” The last time JMU celebrated both Halloween and Homecoming during one weekend was in 2019. On the football field that Saturday, the Dukes beat Towson 27-10. The majority of JMU students have not experienced both Halloweekend and Homecoming simultaneously but feel the coinciding events will cause chaos. According to a Breeze Instagram poll posted on Oct. 15, 91% of 101 respondents said they think there will be a difference in safety levels during Hoco-Hallo weekend when compared to other weekends. Senior Sophie Stimpson added the potential for increases in criminal activity could be worsened by the fact that the kickoff is at 8 p.m. Saturday and emphasized it’s “too much,” and said she worries police won’t be able to regulate the situation.
“So many people come in for Halloweekend anyway, so there's going to be double the amount of people [this year],” Stimpson said. “The police presence will be insane.” Senior Lizz Cook shares Stimpson’s thoughts about the weekend and said she is nervous for the increase in crowds the weekend will produce. “I feel very safe with the JMU students, but I don't know the other people that are coming in,” Cook said. “I feel like other people coming might not have the same intentions as the students here.” In 2013, The Breeze published an article examining a noticeable increase in crime when Homecoming and Halloween fell on the same weekend. In the article, then-Harrisonburg Police Department (HPD) Lt. Roger Knott said the weekend resulted in about 591 calls from Thursday to Saturday night, which was far above Knott’s estimate of roughly 80-100 calls during a typical weekend. During that 2013 weekend, Knott said the department saw 13 cases of either rape, robbery or aggravated assault and 38 cases of property crimes, including vandalism and theft. In the same article, then-Chief of JMU PD Lee Shifflett urged students to trust themselves and “if your gut’s telling you something’s wrong, it’s likely that it is.” He explained students should be aware of their surroundings and be “mindful of who they’re letting into their parties." CONTACT Libby Addison at addisoen@gmail.
com. For more JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @BreezeNewsJMU.
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Dukes discuss Are you planning on celebrating Homecoming? 70 votes
Yes
31 votes
No
Are you planning on celebrating Halloween? 91 votes
Yes
10 votes
No
Do you think there will be a difference in safety levels during Hoco-Hallo weekend? 92 votes
Yes
9 votes
No
How do you plan on celebrating Hoco-Halloweekend? “Tailgating with other Alumni and spending time with our Duke. #JMUlegacy” @angcapphoto
“the concert, football game, and halloween parties” @jmubluestone “Dressing up and reverse trick or treating” @scarecrowlj
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Matt Hoffman ('18) was Duke Dog for ESPN College GameDay in 2017 when the Dukes hosted Villanova. Photos courtesy of Matt Hoffman
One challenge Wermus had to deal with as Duke Dog was thinking he wasn’t good enough or worrying people would know it was him. “I walked around, but I had this impostor syndrome thinking they’re going to know it’s me, or they’re going to think Duke Dog’s bad, like this is a clearly bad version of Duke Dog,” Wermus said. Something that really helped him get through that, Wermus said, was remembering no one could see him through the suit. “I would tell myself, like, there’s no point in this imposter syndrome because … it’s so easy to make somebody’s day,” Wermus said. “So whatever I’m feeling, it doesn’t matter because they don’t notice this [imposter syndrome].” Similar to Hoffman, Wermus also struggled with keeping his alter ego a secret, especially when it caused cheating accusations from his then girlfriend. “I had to have a conversation with the cheerleader coach to say, ‘I think my girlfriend thinks I’m cheating on her. I don’t know how to explain this to her. Can I please say something?’” he said. After getting the go-ahead from the coach, Wermus said his girlfriend thought it was “the coolest thing ever” that she was dating Duke Dog. He had to be very mindful of who he told, Wermus said, but sometimes it was an unavoidable topic with roommates and professors. In fact, Wermus was so stressed about people finding
out he was Duke Dog that he doesn’t even remember walking across the stage during his graduation, he said. As he waited for his name to be called, while he wore the Duke Dog paws and feet, Wermus said he was so nervous people wouldn’t get that he was the mascot. When his name was finally called and Wermus walked the stage, he said he remembers what sounded like people booing him, but after confirming with his older brother, he realized the crowd was yelling “Duuuukes.” “I wish I wasn’t so nervous that I had blacked out because it was, like, I wanted to appreciate the moment, but I didn’t know how to react,” Wermus said. One thing Wermus said he wishes he got to do as Duke Dog was have a big snowball fight with students on the Quad. If he could come back as Duke Dog and get that opportunity, Wermus said he wouldn’t hesitate to take it. Wermus said he struggled with a period of depression while he was Duke Dog, so being a light in others’ lives was the most meaningful part of his time as the mascot. “The number of times someone would say, ‘I was really depressed, and you made my day,’ just from a hello, a high five, a photo, a hug,” Wermus said. “I can’t say how wonderful that felt because also at the time, I was so depressed, I saw the value in it.” Being Duke Dog gave Wermus the ability to do things he couldn’t do as a human, he said. CONTACT Avery Goodstine at thebreezeweb@gmail.com. For more sports coverage, follow the sports desk on X @TheBreezeSports.
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from DUKE DOG, page 15
Hoffman was a resident adviser (RA) during his time as Duke Dog and said it was hard to keep his identity secret from his residents.
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HOMECOMING
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HOMECOMING
! S E K U D Y E H Welcome back to your old stompin' grounds!
Evan We aver / The Breeze
Competition for the crown JMU football’s Homecoming game against ODU will be part of a long-standing feud By JACKSON HEPHNER The Breeze
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Of all of the rivalries in the state of Virginia, few contain the history and number of postseason matchups shared by JMU and Old Dominion. While the two schools had met before, the rivalry gained its notoriety while JMU and ODU were foes in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) from 1991 to 2013. During that time, the Dukes and Monarchs faced off in multiple postseasons with hostile crowds at both schools and picked up conference championships at the expense of each other. But most of that ended when ODU left the CAA in 2013 for Conference USA. Shortly after, the two programs had occasionally played in multiple sports, but the matchup lacked frequency and postseason games. That changed last year, when both schools joined the Sun Belt Conference. Since then, every JMU sport has played against the Monarchs except for cross country and softball, both of which Old Dominion doesn’t sponsor. There’s been six Sun Belt tournament matchups across women’s soccer, swim & dive, women’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s tennis and baseball. To further cement the rejuvenated rivalry, JMU and ODU introduced the “Townebank Royal Rivalry” in October 2022, which awards one point to each school that wins a head-tohead matchup or places higher at a mutual conference championship event, with 0.5 points given in the case of a tie. The school with the most points at the end of the year will receive the “Royal Rivalry Trophy.” In the challenge’s first year, JMU won 16.5-7.5. According to the description on both JMU and ODU athletics’ websites, the schools say the challenge “will elevate the excitement and
visibility” of the matchup, but according to some JMU student-athletes and coaches, that elevation is only for fans. JMU baseball head coach Marlin Ikenberry called the challenge in early June“ something to make the fanbase appreciate the old rivalry and create a new one” but added that in his team’s three matchups against the Monarchs this past spring, his players’ focus was on making a run in the Sun Belt tournament. JMU volleyball senior outside hitter Miëtte Veldman couldn’t recall back in mid-June exactly when she first heard about the challenge, but she said she remembers hearing about it for football. Her coaches didn’t bring it up before JMU’s two matches against the Monarchs in 2022. JMU women’s basketball redshirt junior center Kseniia Kozlova said she didn’t know there was a challenge at all. There was one coach who said the challenge did motivate her team: JMU field hockey head coach Christy Morgan. Although she hates to say it, Morgan said the added bonus of a trophy gives extra motivation for her players. “Is it all about the prize? No, it’s not all about the prize,” Morgan said in late June. “But is it a little bit of an incentive at the end of a game that someone hands you a trophy because you were just a little bit better? Great, love it.”
Field hockey: Morgan against her Alma Mater
JMU already has motivation to beat ODU, despite not sharing a conference. (JMU is an independent program and the Monarchs are in the Big East.) That motivation comes from Morgan, who played for ODU from 1982-85 and was a three-time All-American — helping lead the Monarchs to three national championships under then-head coach Beth Anders.
HOMECOMING “She was incredible,” Morgan said of her former coach, “and she was incredibly committed to us as people and as players, and so she demanded a lot, but that demand was based on caring and loving us. So, those who wanted to be great accepted that challenge and really went after it, myself included.” When Morgan became JMU’s head coach in 1991, she said there was “no love lost” between her and Anders, who helmed the Monarchs from 1980-2012. “It was a battle,” Morgan said, “and initially, they killed us.” Morgan lost her first six matchups against her alma mater. After falling in a close 1-0 game in 1991, the Dukes lost to ODU 7-0 then 10-1 in their two games in 1992, before the Monarchs’ third straight national championship. After one of those early losses, Morgan said she remembers talking to then-Director of Athletics Dean Ehlers, who Morgan said was worried about her. When Ehlers asked Morgan what her goals were, she said to win a national championship. He responded by saying that she needed to slow down a bit because she had just gotten blown out by ODU. Morgan recalled telling Ehlers, “Well then, that’s the target.” JMU played the Monarchs four times in 1993. Each game was decided by a single goal, and Morgan got her first win in the last matchup of the season, eliminating the defending champions 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The next year, JMU won the national title after falling to ODU in the CAA championship. Despite Anders leaving ODU in 2012 and the two teams no longer sharing a conference, Morgan said the ODU game is still one her players “get up for” because they know how much it means to her. “I want to beat that program more than I want to beat anybody,” Morgan said, “just because you’re making history when you beat ODU.”
Baseball: The importance of in-state rivals
On the surface, Ikenberry is in a similar situation to the one Morgan used to be in. His former head coach from when he played at VMI from 1992-95, Chris Finwood, is now the head
Thursday, October 26, 2023 | breezejmu.org coach at ODU. Despite this, Ikenberry said he didn’t think of their matchups differently and added that the two coaches talked at the end of their final game, when the Dukes eliminated the Monarchs from the Sun Belt tournament 2-1 on May 23. “He’s an amazing individual at turning it on and off,” Ikenberry said, “and we both have that ability to look at it in the sense of, ‘Hey, the game’s over with. Now we’re back to the way it was before the game starts.’” Ikenberry said there’s “brotherly love” between the two teams, not only because of the two head coaches but also because of the personal relationships between the players. There are players on both JMU and ODU’s rosters from the Tidewater region, which contains ODU’s campus in Norfolk as well as Virginia Beach, Newport News and Chesapeake. “The 757 area code of baseball is really flourishing in the baseball community,” Ikenberry said. “We have plenty of kids from down there that play on our team.” Many of these players have faced each other growing up and are now squaring off again in the Sun Belt. Some players even have connections to the schools themselves, including ODU’s sophomore infielder/outfielder Luke Waters, whose father, Roger, was a quarterback and linebacker at JMU football from 1986-90. But the motivation to beat ODU extends beyond just JMU’s ties to the 757. ODU is just one of many in-state teams that JMU has faced on a regular basis for decades. Ikenberry has had first-hand experience with this since he started his coaching career at William & Mary in 1998. Back then, JMU, ODU and William & Mary were all members of the CAA, alongside fellow Virginia schools Richmond, George Mason and VCU. These schools made up the majority of the nine-member conference, and each developed a strong rivalry with one another. “When ODU and JMU decided to go to the Sun Belt, I knew that rivalry would be special,” Ikenberry said. see RIVALRY, page 22
JMU men's basketball faced ODU twice in 2022-23 and won both times. This season, the Dukes square off three times against the Monarchs. Abi Middleton / The Breeze
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22 from RIVALRY, page 21
Volleyball: The first of many matches
On the other side of the spectrum was volleyball — a team that had never played ODU, whose volleyball program debuted in 2021. Veldman said in June that the team had hadn’t heard much about ODU’s play style and had to rely on film. Veldman recalled the first two matches in history being “really fun.” She said despite the Dukes not losing a single set to the Monarchs, the matches were far more competitive than the scores indicated. JMU’s average margin of victory across all six sets was 7.33, with the Dukes winning half of them by five points or less. Looking forward, Veldman, a Daleville, Virginia, native, said she thinks that ODU could be a big rival for the program for the same reason it is for other teams — it’s in the Commonwealth. “To have that competition in state is really cool,” Veldman said, “and to have so many in-state Virginia girls playing each other I think is very special.” JMU’s dominance over ODU continued this season, with the Dukes picking up two threeset sweeps over the Monarchs on Oct. 6 and 7, respectively. Across six sets, the Dukes won five of them by six or more points.
Women’s basketball: Adding onto the legacy
Despite JMU and ODU having not played each other since 2013 before last winter, Kozlova said head coach Sean O’Regan made sure his players knew: “It’s not just like a regular game because we have a long-lasting rivalry between James Madison and Old Dominion.” The two teams have played each other 76 times, with the Monarchs holding a commanding 51-25 advantage. For most of the rivalry, ODU dominated the CAA, winning 17 straight conference championships from 1992-2008. This past season, the two teams played three
HOMECOMING
times, with JMU winning all three matchups. JMU decisively won the first 68-54 at home, but the final two were far closer. The Dukes next faced the Monarchs on the road, surviving a 73-68 overtime thriller despite ODU leading by as much as six with 3:29 left in the extra time. The two teams met one last time in the Sun Belt tournament semifinals with a personal twist to the matchup. ODU had advanced to the semis following an 86-83 win over Troy that was capped off by a controversial ending when the Monarchs scored a layup with six players on the court. Speaking to The Breeze in June, Kolova didn’t mention the controversy, but she did remember what her and her teammates said to assistant coach Neil Harrow, who was in his first year with the Dukes after spending seven seasons with Troy. “After ODU beat Troy, we told Neil not to worry because we would beat ODU for him,” Kolova said. JMU knocked off ODU 70-64, advancing to the Sun Belt championship game. Looking forward, Kozlova said last season’s series sweep will help give her motivation to continue beating ODU every time they play. “Because we [beat] them three times last season, it will motivate me more to [beat] them again and again,” Kozlova said, “and make sure it stays this way.”
Looking forward to football
Like volleyball, football’s history with ODU is not lengthy. The Monarchs brought back their program in 2009 following a 69-year absence, then the Dukes faced their in-state foe in 2011 and 2012 as CAA opponents before ODU made the jump to the FBS in 2013. Last season, the two teams met for the first time as Sun Belt foes, with JMU winning 37-3. While JMU and ODU don’t share a deep history, ODU head coach Ricky Rahne told The Breeze at Sun Belt Media Days in July that while he preaches going 1-0 every week rather than focusing on specific teams, he knows how important this rivalry is to his fanbase — partially because of how
Then-junior Isabella Peterson carries the ball downfield in a 16-2 win over ODU last spring. Peyton King / The Breeze
many JMU fans there are in the Tidewater region. “There are a lot of times where JMU flags are flying right next to an ODU flag,” Rahne said, “and when you’re out cutting your lawn, you want to have some pride, and that’s a big part of it. But we know every game in our conference is going to be important.” This year’s matchup has already garnered plenty of interest. JMU announced on Oct. 16 that Bridgeforth Stadium will be sold out and broadcast on ESPNU. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. While this weekend’s Homecoming festivities
will focus on the football side of the rivalry, the history between the Dukes and Monarchs spans across many sports and is only continuing to grow. But no matter when, or what sport it is, JMU field hockey head coach Morgan’s desire is the same. “I want to beat ’em,” she said, “I want to beat ’em in every sport.” CONTACT Jackson Hephner at breezesports@gmail.com. For more football coverage, follow the sports desk on X at @TheBreezeSports.
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HEY DUKES,
we want to let you in on a secret. The best place for banking isn’t a bank at all!
CommonWealth One is JMU’s trusted, full-service credit union, and student banking is better here. We’re conveniently located on campus and offer everything you might need financially as a student. What we don’t have? Excessive and unnecessary fees. When it comes to handling your finances as a student, we’ve got your back with:
Savings Account
Free Checking Account
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Low-Rate Loans
Financial Resources
The secret is out – CommonWealth One is here to help you thrive financially at JMU.
To open an account or learn more about JMU Student Perks, which include special events, free food and prizes, visit cofcu.org/DUKES or stop by our branch in The Union (next to the post office).
The Union (Next to the Post Office) Monday – Friday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
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