HARRISONBURG, Va. - It would have been a blockbuster regular-season matchup for the Division I Football Championship Subdivision. North Dakota State playing James Madison in a non-conference game in a big-time stadium, probably nationally televised.

But it's not to happen. Fans from the schools will have to wait until the playoffs for their teams to meet, at least for the foreseeable future.

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The athletic directors from the FCS powers earlier this year discussed the schools scheduling a non-conference, neutral-site game in the coming years but couldn't come to an agreement, according to JMU's Jeff Bourne and NDSU's Matt Larsen.

Bourne shared the tidbit Friday, Oct. 5, while sitting in the athletic director's suite at Bridgeforth Stadium, talking about the comparisons between the Dukes and the Bison. Asked whether JMU and NDSU had talked about scheduling a non-conference game, Bourne said the schools had been approached by a promoter looking to put together the marquee matchup.

NDSU has won six of the last seven national titles and JMU won the other. The Dukes ended the Bison's streak of five straight championships with a 27-17 win in the playoff semifinals in 2016. NSDU exacted revenge in the title game last season, beating JMU 17-13 in Frisco, Texas.

The teams are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 this season and both are undefeated.

Bourne said the promoter suggested a one-time game at a major-college or professional stadium. The discussions didn't go far enough to get into specifics of which stadium or even what part of the country it would be in.

JMU didn't like giving up a home game and ticket revenue, Bourne said, and didn't believe the guaranteed money for playing the game would make it financially worthwhile. The Dukes' non-conference model is to play three home games at the 25,000-seat Bridgeforth and one road game against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent with a large financial guarantee.

"We would like a game here and I'm sure NDSU would like a game at their place. I just don't know that a neutral site game is a good idea," Bourne said.

Larsen echoed Bourne's concerns, saying NDSU would be interested in a home-and-home series with a team like JMU. The financials were also difficult, Larsen said.

"Those were the deal-breakers. It was going to be tough to make it work," Larsen said.

The Bison play Butler at Target Field in Minneapolis next season and have a road game at Delaware, the second game in a home-and-home contract with the Blue Hens. NDSU plays North Dakota and Cal Davis at the Fargodome in non-conference games.

In 2020, the Bison play at Oregon in their first FBS game since 2016. NDSU is scheduled to play at Arizona in 2022 and at Colorado in 2024.

JMU's non-conference schedule is set for 2019 with an FBS game at West Virginia. The Dukes are scheduled to play at FBS schools in 2022 (Louisville) and North Carolina (2025).

"Our fans for now will have to be satisfied playing NDSU in the playoffs. I hope come January 2019 we are sitting in Frisco, Texas, talking about it," Bourne said. "Playing them is a great experience for our fans and I think it's a great rivalry developing. It's great for college football."