In-State College Football Rivals Extend Series Through 2040

No sport plans for the future quite like college football.

Alonza Barnett III will be long gone from James Madison when his squad plays Liberty in 2040. / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

In the year 2040, Germany will celebrate 50 years of reunification, Bobby Bonilla will be off the Mets' books and Liberty and James Madison will play a football game.

That's according to a Wednesday morning release from both schools, which christened the Flames and Dukes' rivalry series the "Battle of the Blue Ridge." In addition, it tacked on four games to the teams' currently scheduled contests—the last of which will be played on Sept. 15, 2040 in Lynchburg, Va.

Per FBSchedules, the final game is believed to be the furthest contracted American football game on record.

Liberty and James Madison are separated by about an hour and 45 minutes of driving time in Virginia, and have met 18 times since 1980. The Dukes lead the all-time series 12–6, although the Flames won the teams' most recent meeting in the 2014 FCS playoff.

The two teams will renew their rivalry on Sept. 20 in Lynchburg. It will air on ESPNU; no word on whether the '40 game will air on interplanetary television.

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