The Dukes officially left the CAA and joined the SBC in 2022, participating in Division I FBS football and other sports sponsored by the conference.

Billy Sample is JMU's most famous baseball alumnus, who played in 862 career major league games with the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves.

The Dukes also won the CAA Championship in 2011 defeating Old Dominion University qualifying the team for the 2011 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

Prior to Dean Keener, Lou Campanelli and Charles "Lefty" Driesell enjoyed long and successful tenures in the position.

Nationally recognized JMU players who have recently graduated include Meredith Alexis (2007) who has continued to play professional basketball in Europe.

Alexis holds the CAA record for most career rebounds and was the school's all-time leading scorer before being passed by Tamera Young during the 2007–08 season.

Young would graduate and finish the 2008 season having established a new all-time CAA scoring record and was selected in the first round (8th overall) of the 2008 WNBA draft.

Dawn Evans, was an Associated Press All-American honorable mention in 2009 after finishing the season as the nation's third leading scorer, and was named CAA Player of the Year in 2011.

In 2012 the team competed in the WNIT defeating Davidson, Wake Forest, South Florida, Virginia, and Syracuse to reach the championship game.

On January 6, 2015, the Dukes became the 3rd NCAA women's basketball team to reach 1000 wins in program history, defeating the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks 74–57.

The football team's popularity grew with the addition of head coach 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.

[10] On January 7, 2017, JMU won their second National Championship in the program's history, defeating Youngstown State by a score of 28–14 in Frisco, Texas.

[12] Notable Dukes include Charles Haley, one of only two players to win five Super Bowl rings and inductee of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame;[13] Scott Norwood, the Buffalo Bills' all-time leading scorer; and Gary Clark, an All-Pro wide receiver for the Washington Redskins (now the Washington Commanders).

On September 29, 2006, the James Madison University Board of Visitors announced that ten sports teams would be eliminated effective July 1, 2007.

On October 12, the United States Olympic Committee sent a letter to President Rose and Athletic Director Jeff Bourne, asking them to reconsider the decision to eliminate all ten teams.

Board of Visitors Athletic Committee chair Pablo Cuevas was paraphrased in The Breeze as stating that the option of maintaining the status quo was not viable due to concerns regarding Title IX.

[19] The Board of Visitors, in a unanimous vote, ultimately decided to adopt the administration's recommendation of a two-tiered system of scholarship and non-scholarship teams.