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James Madison University (U.S.)

Harrisonburg, Virginia

image by Randy Young, 16 April 2016

Description of the flag
Seal
Supporters flags

See also:

Description of the flag

James Madison University is a public four-year university located in the city of Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women, the school boasts an undergraduate population of nearly 20,000, with an additional 2,000 students seeking post-graduate degrees. The school's name was changed in 1924 to the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg, and then to Madison College in 1938, before rising to university status in 1976. The school admitted its first male students in 1946. JMU's sports teams are known as the Royal Dukes (possibly chosen to show solidarity with fellow their Virginia school, the University of Virginia Cavaliers), and the sports logo features a bulldog in royal regalia using the school's colors of purple and gold. JMU is often considered to be a sister school to Mary Washington College (now the University of Mary Washington, my alma mater), as both schools were established by the Virginia General Assembly in 1908 as teaching colleges for women.
Randy Young, 16 April 2016

The institutional flag appears to be the word-mark flag: https://d2pvyxdw30n8fd.cloudfront.net/WHSV/v5d64592049cae/thumbnail.jpg
Logo: https://fotw.info/images/u/us_u_jmu2.gif
Branding guide: https://www.jmu.edu/identity/our-style/color.shtml
Dave Fowler, 23 February 2020

Supporters flags

Having visited the JMU campus numerous times over the past two decades, I've seen plenty of flags representing James Madison University. As with most colleges and universities in the US, there are a multitude of designs used by students and alumni to show their affiliation and support for their alma mater and particularly for the sports teams.
Randy Young, 16 April 2016

image by Randy Young, 16 April 2016
This is the most commonly seen JMU flag, both on campus and flown at the homes of students and alumni. There are also untold numbers of variations of the flag sold through various merchants. This flag features the bulldog logo standing on the gold letters "JMU" all on a purple field.

image by Randy Young, 16 April 2016
I have seen this flag flying on campus once or twice near the administration building. This simple flag features the stylized acronym "JMU" (complete with Ž registered trademark logo) in white on a purple field.

image by Randy Young, 16 April 2016
This flag is a variant of the previous one, with the stylized "JMU" in gold instead of white. I have seen this flag fly most prominently at the building that houses the JMU Alumni Association and may be connected with that group, though I have no evidence to support or refute that theory.

image by Randy Young, 16 April 2016

A current trend among college sports supporters is to re-color the American flag in the University colors, using the sports team logo to replace the canton of stars. In this case, the thirteen stripes alternate purple and gold, with the JMU bulldog logo centered in the purple canton. This flag is becoming nearly as common as the bulldog logo flag itself.
Randy Young, 16 April 2016

image located by Paul Bassinson, 8 December 2023
Source: https://m.media-amazon.com

Seal

image located by Paul Bassinson, 6 December 2017
Source: www.jmu.edu