Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the United States, James Madison.

Founded in 1908 as a women's college, James Madison University was established by the Virginia General Assembly.

[6] The university became the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg in 1924 and continued under that name until 1938 when it was named Madison College in honor of James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, whose Montpelier estate is located in nearby Orange, Virginia.

Major curriculum changes were made and the university was authorized to grant master's degrees in 1954.

During his administration, student enrollment and the number of faculty and staff tripled, and national fraternities were seen on campus such as Tau Kappa Epsilon, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Alpha Chi Rho, Theta Chi, and others, doctoral programs were authorized, more than 20 major campus buildings were constructed and national publications recognized JMU as one of the finest institutions of its type in America.

[6] During the first decade of the 21st century under Linwood H. Rose (JMU's fifth president), the university continued to expand, not only through new construction east of Interstate 81 but also on the west side of campus.

[10][11] The rapid expansion of JMU's campus has at times created tension in the city-university relationship.

[16] Ten years later, police equipped with riot gear used force to disperse a group of 8,000 college-aged people at the party.

[25] It has become Virginia's second most photographed location on social media sites like Instagram and Twitter, after Kings Dominion.

[citation needed] Several new campus construction projects were included in Governor Tim Kaine's $1.65 billion higher education bond package.

The proposal also included $8.6 million as the final installment payment for the purchase of Rockingham Memorial Hospital.

[28] Beginning in 2002 JMU began receiving state and private funding to construct a state-of-the-art performing arts complex.

[38] Some appointed members of note include former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and former first lady of Virginia, Susan Allen.

On October 2, 2009, JMU was granted a chapter by the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.

Washington Monthly assesses the quality of schools based on social mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), research, and service.

[56] These rankings take into consideration the surrounding area's activities, academics, as well as the social scene on campus.

[58] All freshmen must live on campus, and a large portion of JMU's on-campus housing is set aside for incoming students.

Published every Thursday, The Breeze provides news and information to the university community, covering topics such as sports, culture, and business.

[69] James Madison University is home to over two dozen social fraternity and sorority chapters.

A monument dedicated to the members of the Inter-Cultural Greek Council was built in 2022 by the institution's Student Success Center and dubbed "The Yard" in honor of the social justice and community service committed by the organizations.

[70] James Madison University has the largest collegiate marching band in the nation, with 540 members as of Fall 2022.

Nicknamed "Virginia's Finest", the Marching Royal Dukes have performed at the inaugurations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the NFC title game between Washington and Dallas in 1983, and the Bands of America Grand National Championships in 1988 and 1991.

In the past decade, the band has performed in Europe during winter break; they appeared in Athens, Dublin, Monaco, London, and Rome.

[74][75][76] Several of the groups, such as Note-oriety and The Overtones, have gone "viral" for their music videos, "Pretty Hurts"[77] and "Say Love",[78] respectively.

James Madison University invested heavily in new athletic facilities throughout the tenure of President Linwood Rose.

Additionally, after the last football game of 2009, the university began an expansion of Bridgeforth Stadium that increased seating capacity to approximately 25,000.

[83] In 2013, James Madison University's men's basketball team won the CAA championship title for the first time since 1994.

The Dukes then won their first NCAA tournament game in 30 years, defeating Long Island University-Brooklyn.

The 2004 squad was the only team in history to win the title after playing four straight road playoff games.