VMI Keydets football

VMI Keydets football
2024 VMI Keydets football team
First season	1873
Athletic director	Jim Miller
Head coach	Danny Rocco 1st season, 5–6 (.455)
Stadium	Foster Stadium (capacity: 10,000)
Field	Alumni Memorial Field
Year built	1962[1]
Field surface	Bermuda grass
Location	Lexington, Virginia
Conference	Southern Conference
Past conferences	Big South Conference
All-time record	485–718–42 (.406)
Bowl record	6–18 (.250)
Conference titles	SoCon: 8 (2020)
Current uniform
Colors	Red, white, and yellow[2]
Fight song	"The Spirit"
Mascot	Moe the Kangaroo
Website	vmikeydets.com

The VMI Keydets football team represents the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. The Keydets compete in the Southern Conference of the NCAA Division I FCS, and are coached by Danny Rocco, named head coach on December 3, 2022. VMI plays their home contests at 10,000-seat Alumni Memorial Field, as they have since 1962.

Historically VMI's biggest rival was Virginia Tech. Today, VMI's biggest rival is The Citadel, as the two teams have battled 72 times, with The Citadel leading the series 40–30–2. The series was dubbed "The Military Classic of the South" in 1976 as a reference to the two school's status as the last two remaining all-military schools in the south, a region once rich with military colleges.^[3] The winner of each game receives an award known as the Silver Shako. The Silver Shako has been held by VMI since 2019. The last contest occurred on April 17, 2021.

In addition to The Citadel, VMI has minor rivalries with William & Mary and Richmond. The Tribe and the Keydets first met in 1908, and William & Mary leads that series 52–33–2. VMI's competition with Richmond goes back farther, to just their third year of existence (1893). Richmond has won 41 games to VMI's 40, and the teams have tied five times. Also, the Keydets have played Virginia and Virginia Tech 82 and 79 times, respectively.