PENSACOLA, Fla. – You knew the six-decade-old athletic rivalry between Old Dominion and James Madison universities would heat up when the schools joined the Sun Belt Conference this season, and it clearly has.
Not since 2012-13 were the schools joined at the hip as conference rivals. And from football to women's soccer and both basketball programs, the games have been intense and for the most part the crowds large, with most fans disdainful of those on the other side.
There's even a trophy at stake – the TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge that will be decided between about 20 head-to-head athletic events between the two universities.
But there has also long been a mutual respect between administrators, coaches and players. And even though the rivalry is more heated, that hasn't changed.
That was demonstrated in early January when JMU's women's basketball coaches and players sent a sympathy card to ODU senior forward Amari Young, whose father had died less than two weeks earlier from a heart attack.
"I thought it was very sweet of them to do that," ODU head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said. "It was very thoughtful.
"Their support shows they empathize with what we were going through. We have a lot of respect for their program."
That doesn't mean that ODU doesn't dearly want to win when the Monarchs and JMU square off Sunday at 12:30 in the Sun Belt Conference semifinals.
The winner will play either Texas State or Southern Miss, which meet in the other semifinal, Monday at 2 p.m. for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. ODU hasn't gone dancing since 2008 and this team is clamoring to be the first in 15 years.
Brianna Jackson, Jordan McLaughlin playing against JMU in December.
Clearly, both teams will have a little extra energy in their step because of who they are playing.
"I'm not going to say a lot," said ODU guard Makayla Dickens when I asked her how much she and her teammates want to defeat JMU.
"I'm going to keep it simple. Yes, we want to win."
The Dukes swept the two games against ODU this season, winning, 68-54, in Harrisonburg on New Year's Eve when the Monarchs were without Young. Two months later, JMU upended ODU in overtime, 73-68.
ODU led by six early in OT, but then went ice cold the final three minutes.
The game was a throwback to golden days of the ODU-JMU rivalry as the teams played a competitive, well-played and entertaining game before an enthusiastic crowd of 3,336. ODU leads the rivalry with JMU, 51-24, although the Dukes have won seven in a row.
Jatyjia Jones boxes out at JMU in December.
Milton-Jones said the ODU-JMU rivalry should become the most torrid in Sun Belt women's basketball, and much of that is because of their histories.
"I love the fact that we both have storied programs," she said.
ODU has won three national titles, gone to 29 NCAA or AIAW tournaments and ranks eighth among all Division I schools with 1,143 victories.
JMU has been to 12 NCAA tournaments and ranks fifth with 1,200 victories.
An aside here: JMU, once an all-girls school, has been playing women's basketball for a century, while ODU's program began in 1969-70.
JMU has a talent-laden, experienced lineup that includes four international players and Sun Belt Player of the Year Kiki Jefferson, a 6-foot-1 guard who burned ODU for 30 points last month.
Petyon McDaniel (6-feet, 11.2 points. 4.5 rebounds) and Kseniia Kozloven (6-6 center, 10.5 points, 5.8 rebounds) also score in double figures. Kozloven is a transfer from Middle Tennessee whose hometown is Moscow, Russia.
Young was exceptional in ODU's 86-83 quarterfinal victory over Troy, in which the Monarchs nearly blew an 18-point lead. She scored 29 points, had nine rebounds and blocked the potential game-tying shot just before the final buzzer.
ODU had 10 turnovers in the fourth quarter and basically wilted under Troy's press.
"That concerns me in a great way," Milton-Jones said. "Yes, the pressure was there, but it was the same pressure that was there all game long.
"Instead of playing the pace we played most of the game, we played at the pace Troy wanted us to play. We were too up tempo. We tried to dribble too much. You don't beat a press with a dribble. You beat a press with good, crisp passing."
She says she doesn't know JMU coach Sean O'Regan well, but admires what he has done at JMU. O'Regan was a JMU assistant coach for nine seasons before becoming head coach in 2016.
ODU is counting on Kaye Clark, the team's best defender, to help disrupt JMU's offense.
As a high school senior, the Evansville, Indiana native said he considered enrolling at ODU before enrolling at JMU. He coached the Dukes to three CAA regular-season titles.
"He is Mr. JMU," Milton-Jones said. "They represent the program in a tremendous way.
"They've beaten us twice. I'm hoping we can come away with the big win when it matters most. But I know it's going to be a hard-fought battle because they have a great program with a great coach."
Milton-Jones says that having four foreign players gives JMU an edge over many teams.
"The thing that makes JMU tough is something that flies under the radar," she said. "I played 16 years in Europe and am very aware of how the game is taught over there.
"Europe has very skilled players who understand the game. In the U.S., the focus is on the player and how to build your team around a player's talent. The international perspective is how to play the game holistically, it's how can I adapt my talent to make the team better."
ODU has two international players: Brenda Fontana from Argentina and Althea Kara Angeles from Australia.
Milton-Jones said the Monarchs need to pressure JMU into mistakes. She hopes that Kaye Clark, ODU's best defender, will play a major role in disrupting JMU's offensive flow.
"We have to figure out how can we be disruptive," she said. "But we also have to be poised, more poised than we were against Troy."
Contact Minium at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Minium: ODU-JMU Rivalry is Intense, But There is Also a Lot of Mutual Respect Between Both Universities
