HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — James Madison athletic director Matt Roan used the public-address microphone to implore Dukes fans to stop throwing snowballs onto the field during the Sun Belt Conference championship game against Troy on Friday night, warning that their actions could cost JMU a penalty.
Roan's address to the crowd followed an incident that affected the game.
With 4:30 left in the first quarter, Troy's Evan Crenshaw was nearly hit by a snowball while punting from the end zone with the JMU student section behind him. Crenshaw shanked a 26-yard punt that helped set up the Dukes’ first score, a 40-yard field goal.
Fans in the student section began throwing snowballs during pregame warm-ups, when the Dukes' marching band got pelted. They kept it up for most of the first half, despite repeated warnings over the PA system.
Harrisonburg received about 1 1/2 inches of snow on Friday, its first measurable snowfall of the season.
No. 19 JMU had an outside shot at making the College Football Playoff field with a win over Troy and a loss by No. 16 Virginia to Duke in Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
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