So far the Dukes have 4OOC games scheduled at the AUBC for this upcoming season. Looking at the schedule for last year I figure the Dukes will have away OOC games at Mount St Marys, Buffalo and Mason. That brings us up to 7 OOC games. From years past they seem to schedule 11 OOC games so I am wondering if anyone has heard any chatter who may fill out the remaining OOC schedule. Do we owe or does anyone owe us a game that would fit in?

I also can not remember when the CAA schedule gets released. Hopefully soon so the wife and I can stat planning some road trips.


Brian

I see the 2021-2022 Conference schedule for the Lady Dukes has been posted on JMU Sports. Time to start planning a few road trips!!

Brian

(07-28-2021 05:10 PM)ParentofJMUMRDs Wrote:  I see the 2021-2022 Conference schedule for the Lady Dukes has been posted on JMU Sports. Time to start planning a few road trips!!

Brian

Brian,

Curious - your login is parent of MRD, but you seem to have the strongest interest in Women's basketball. Just wondering if that is the case, and why? I would of probably guessed if your tie was a kid in the MRDs you would be most interested in football. Women's BB is a sport I follow - just wondering how (if it did) become your JMU sport of most interest.

Dukester

Easy answer actually. Both the daughters are Dukes (2010 and 2015) and both were 4 year members of the MRD's. Older daughter played the mellophone and the younger daughter did the clarinet as her first line instrument is the bassoon and they do not march that.

So when the older daughter started at JMU that is when we started going to football games and watched the MRD's play. The older daughter also played in the Pep Band and due to her schedule she would mostly play at WBB games. So we would trundle on down to hang with her and started watching the Lady Dukes and got hooked on them and have been following them since 2006. So you can blame the older daughter for our WBB interest!!!!! I actually prefer the womens game to a degree as it is a bit more of a game as it is played below the rim as compared to the mens game (at least now a days mostly it seems) that is played above the rim and seems to be more focused on one on one and dunks versus running set plays which I enjoy watching more.

Hope this makes some sense.

Looking forward to the start of the season!! Hope to see you and the rest of the fans at the AUBC soon

Brian

(07-30-2021 09:42 AM)ParentofJMUMRDs Wrote:  Dukester

Easy answer actually. Both the daughters are Dukes (2010 and 2015) and both were 4 year members of the MRD's. Older daughter played the mellophone and the younger daughter did the clarinet as her first line instrument is the bassoon and they do not march that.

So when the older daughter started at JMU that is when we started going to football games and watched the MRD's play. The older daughter also played in the Pep Band and due to her schedule she would mostly play at WBB games. So we would trundle on down to hang with her and started watching the Lady Dukes and got hooked on them and have been following them since 2006. So you can blame the older daughter for our WBB interest!!!!! I actually prefer the womens game to a degree as it is a bit more of a game as it is played below the rim as compared to the mens game (at least now a days mostly it seems) that is played above the rim and seems to be more focused on one on one and dunks versus running set plays which I enjoy watching more.

Hope this makes some sense.

Looking forward to the start of the season!! Hope to see you and the rest of the fans at the AUBC soon

Brian

Perfect sense - I was thinking pep band may have played into it, and below the rim was the final piece.

Screech - off-topic - Hyper.

Let me make this a bit on topic. DJII will hopefully be an MRD 3 years from now. He's entering his Soph year in Highschool and it appears the marching band is going from over 100 pre-covid to under 50 - instruments wise (Flag team appears to be around 20 and not included in this discussion).

I "think" part of the reason is due to poor communication about the band program, but I'm sure a lot is also due to Covid and kids dropping out of music last year.

Hyper - what are your band numbers looking like for you, and other directors in the region?

I guess to bring this full circle - I wonder if the MRDs will be smaller the next handful of years due to younger kids dropping out, or not entering band programs due to the Covid off year?

I actually switched schools due to poor decisions from division officials in my previous school in the Richmond area. Numbers are down everywhere pretty much without exception, but kids will come back once they see band is doing real band stuff again. No one wants to do any sort of virtual band.

One day when I was working in Oasis (shameless plug!) a JMU parent came in with his daughter and as we were chatting she mentioned she was in the pep band. I said the pep band was one of the most fun aspects of the WBB games and she grinned and said, "We get paid to be obnoxious!"

(07-30-2021 12:33 PM)HyperDuke Wrote:  I actually switched schools due to poor decisions from division officials in my previous school in the Richmond area. Numbers are down everywhere pretty much without exception, but kids will come back once they see band is doing real band stuff again. No one wants to do any sort of virtual band.

You hit the nail on the head.....the entire allure of band/marching band is it being FUN and doing stuff together. The entire notion of virtual band is just dumb. My daughter was in band last year and she said it was awful. On the days you could actually go to school, you could not play instruments in class. I mean if you cannot play instruments in band why even have the class.

Still no fill out of the OOC schedule for the Lady Dukes beyond the 4 home games already posted. Wonder what is taking so long to fill things out. As I noted above we should have away games vs Mt St Mary, Buffalo and Mason this season so that leaves 3-4 more to schedule. Hopefully a couple more home OOC games will be added.

Got some road trips planned for the conference away games . Will be making the southern swing against UNCW and CofC and also the games against Elon and W&M. Also will make the away game against Delaware and Towson as they are fairly local. Need to make a trip one of these days to Hofstra and Northeastern to round everything out.

Brian

Wife did a bit of poking around last night and found two OOC games for the Dukes this season.

At Mason on Monday Dec 20 at 3:00 PM

At Buffalo on Saturday Nov 27 at 2:00 PM

Think we should have an away game vs Mount St Mary's but nothing on their schedule and it looks like their OOC schedule is all done at this point so do not know if the Dukes will play them this year.

This gives a total of 6 OOC games so far so there should be 4 to 5 more at some point I would think.

Brian

At Liberty Thursday November 18 and at George Washington Thursday December 2.

LovethoseDukes

Thanks for the update. That gives us 8 OOC games so far, expect 2-3 more to fill out the schedule. Hopefully at least a couple more home games.

JMUSports needs to update the schedule to add these 4 OOC games.

Brian

Non-Con schedule was released today! A lot of big names, a good looking schedule!
https://jmusports.com/news/2021/9/16/wom...edule.aspx

UVA, Maryland, WVU, Villanova at home
UNC, Liberty, GW, GMU, and Buffalo on the road

Saw that the OOC was completed and released this morning. Going to hit GW and GMU as they are local and am considering going to UNC as the older daughter lives in Raleigh. I think Liberty is a Thursday game so that looks doubtful and Buffalo is too far a trip.

Nice OOC schedule though!!

Brian