FARMVILLE, Va. — With conflicting loyalties to teams across multiple sports, Amy McClain Ferrell '86 and her husband, Craig Ferrell, are used to rooting against each other. And while they go about their fandom differently—Craig a practitioner of "quiet pride" compared to Amy's practice of "always yelling at the TV"—gameday banter between the couple is usually good-natured. Usually. 
 
"There are definitely times when both our teams are playing that we need to go into different rooms," Ferrell laughed. 
 
This Wednesday, Nov. 12, when Ferrell's Lancers host her husband's James Madison Dukes in Farmville, the couple—like many other split Longwood households around the commonwealth—may find themselves retreating to separate spaces once again. Only this time they'll need to do so somewhere within the confines of the Joan Perry Brock Center.
 
In an early-season showdown between two Virginia basketball programs who are both on parallel runs of championship-caliber success, the Lancers and Dukes will open a new chapter in a rivalry that began nearly 20 years ago and whose last Longwood victory came in a 79-76 nailbiter in 2008. Since their last meeting in 2016, however, both teams have climbed to the upper tier of the commonwealth's basketball landscape, having both advanced to multiple NCAA Tournaments and won multiple conference championships over the past four years. 
 
Adding to the marquee matchup for the Longwood faithful will be the venue, as James Madison visits the Joan Perry Brock Center for the first time. They'll be greeted by the JPB's signature mob of students, alumni and fans who have quickly made Longwood's crown jewel of an arena home since its doors first opened in November 2023. The game is a Stripe Out, sponsored by College Corners on High, with details here.
 
"It's an example of the type of teams we have to go out and schedule now," said first-year Longwood head coach Ronnie Thomas, who was promoted to that position after spending the previous five seasons on Longwood's bench as an assistant coach. "To get a team like that to come to Longwood, it's an example of how far our program has come."
 
How far, indeed. 
 
After years spent finding their footing at the Division I level, the Lancers are on a multi-year run of success that has, by many metrics, placed them on equal footing with many of Virginia's basketball powerhouses. Since the 2021-22 season—the same year Thomas was promoted to assistant coach on former Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich's staff—the Lancers have won two Big South Championships, advanced to two NCAA Tournaments and compiled an 86-67 overall record. 
 
During that span, only commonwealth stalwarts Virginia, VCU and Norfolk State have matched Longwood in reaching multiple NCAA Tournaments, while only VCU (102), Liberty (96), Norfolk State (96) and James Madison (90) have won more games. And in further proving their well-earned in-state relevance, the Lancers have also gone 8-6 against their Division I peers in Virginia during that stretch. 
 
Wednesday's showdown against James Madison will be an early-season proving ground for both teams, who represented the commonwealth on the national stage in 2024 when they advanced to the NCAA Tournament, alongside the University of Virginia. Both have significant momentum for the 2025-26 season as well, with James Madison entering Wednesday's game as the preseason favorite in the Sun Belt Conference and Longwood a projected top-three finisher in the Big South. 
 
"We've become a team that's fighting at the top of our league every year," Thomas said. "Now you're facing another in-state team whom we're just as recognizable as, and they're coming to our place."
 
James Madison will easily be the biggest in-state opponent Longwood has hosted in its new arena, which opened its doors at the start of the 2023-24 season—the same season the Lancers won their second Big South Championship and advanced to their second NCAA Division I Tournament. 
 
Since that inaugural game, the Lancers have unquestionably made JPB their home, racing out to a 26-7 record in the stadium. Including this year's dominant season-opening win against Mary Baldwin, they are also a near-perfect 16-1 against non-conference teams in the arena, which opened three years after James Madison's Atlantic Union Bank Center in 2020.
 
But for as much emphasis as Longwood fans may place on Wednesday's game—as the James Madison faithful may too, for that matter—Thomas is quick to note that to the teams themselves, the focus is elsewhere. 
 
"I know it means a lot to Longwood and it means a lot to the state, but for us, it's just another game," he said. "We're on our own journey and really focusing on becoming the best version of ourselves, regardless of who we play."
 
No matter how much those actually playing the game may downplay the significance of the matchup, though, it's nearly impossible for fans to escape the gravity of an in-state rivalry.
 
Just ask Ferrell.
 
"I cheer for JMU all the time," she said. "Unless they're playing Longwood."
 
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