James Madison fans throw snowballs and nearly hit Troy player during game

A college football conference championship came down to a snowball fight Friday that resulted in a player being nearly hit in a moment that may have affected the game.

During James Madison’s Sun Belt Conference championship game against Troy on Friday, James Madison athletic director Matt Roan had to send a PA message to home fans warning them to stop throwing snowballs on the field or face a penalty for JMU.

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Roan’s warning came shortly after Troy punter Evan Crenshaw was nearly hit by a snowball while sprinting from the end zone with the JMU student section behind him. Crenshaw sank a 26-yard punt that helped set up the Dukes’ first score, a 40-yard field goal.

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A general view of the stadium during the second half of the NCAA Division I FCS Football Championship quarterfinal game between the James Madison Dukes and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Bridgeforth Stadium on May 2, 2021 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Fans in the student section began throwing snowballs during pregame warmups when the Dukes’ marching band was thrown. 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 Friday, its first measurable snowfall of the season.

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The James Madison team celebrates after winning the Sun Belt championship NCAA college football game against Troy in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Robert Simmons)

No. 19 JMU has an outside chance to make 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.