HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- The James Madison football team returned to Richmond International Airport Sunday evening after their College Football Playoff run ended with a loss to Oregon.
The Dukes' charter flight landed at RIC just after 5 p.m., and players boarded buses for the drive back to Harrisonburg following the cross-country trip.
The loss marked the end of a historic season for JMU football. The Dukes won 12 games for the first time in program history, captured the Sun Belt Conference title and made the College Football Playoff just four years after moving up to the Division I level.
The game also served as the finale for head coach Bob Chesney, who will be taking over at UCLA.
"To watch them go out there all the way across the country and be one of 12 teams left competing, that's a source of pride, I think, for everybody in this community," Chesney said. "And then to be out there all the way on the West Coast and just see how much purple we're in the stands and how much support we had. Obviously, that was a really good environment and clearly outnumbered, outmatched at times on the field as well, but our guys never stopped competing."
Sports
James Madison falls to Oregon 51-34 in College Football Playoff opener
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