The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the United States. In keeping with its founding principles and unlike any other senior military college in the United States, VMI enrolls cadets only and awards bachelor's degrees exclusively. The institute grants degrees in 14 disciplines in engineering, science, and the liberal arts.
James Henry Binford "Binnie" Peay III is a retired four-star general of the United States Army. He served as the 14th superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute from 2003-2020, and as chairman of the Allied Defense Group from 2001-03. He has also served on various corporate and nonprofit boards.
Francis Henney Smith was an American military officer, mathematician and educator. After graduating from West Point and a brief service in the United States Army, he became the first Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute on its establishment in 1839, and held that post until shortly before his death. His superintendency included the four years of the American Civil War, during which he served as a major general in the Virginia militia and a colonel in the Confederate States Army.
Lieutenant General Samuel Vaughan Wilson, aka "General Sam," completed his active military career in the fall of 1977, having divided his service almost equally between special operations and intelligence assignments.
Robert Lee "Skipp" Sudduth IV is an American theater, film and television actor. He appeared in the 1998 film Ronin and the TV drama Third Watch.
Captain Humbert Roque "Rocky" Versace was a United States Army officer of Puerto Rican–Italian descent who was posthumously awarded the United States' highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his heroic actions while a prisoner of war (POW) during the Vietnam War. He was the first member of the U.S. Army to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions performed in Southeast Asia while in captivity.
Frederick James Kroesen Jr. was a United States Army four-star general who served as the Commanding General of the Seventh United States Army and the commander of NATO Central Army Group from 1979 to 1983, and Commanding General, United States Army Forces Command from 1976 to 1978. He also served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1978 to 1979. He commanded troops in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, enabling him to be one of the very small number who ever was entitled to wear the Combat Infantryman Badge with two Stars, denoting active combat in three wars.
Joseph Dupuy Eggleston II was an American educator, the seventh president of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, and the 14th president of Hampden-Sydney College. Eggleston also served as a public school teacher and administrator and as the chief of the Division of Rural Education for the United States Bureau of Education.
Sam Sims Walker was a United States Army general who served as the Commanding General of Allied Land Forces, South East Europe from 1977 to 1978.
Robert Joseph Thalman was an American football and track coach. He served as the head football coach at Hampden–Sydney College from 1956 to 1959 and at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) from 1971 to 1984, compiling a career college football record of 80–103–4. He led the VMI Keydets to Southern Conference championships in 1974 and 1977. Thalman played football at the University of Richmond, from which he graduated in 1948.
Tom Clark is an American football coach. He is the offensive coordinator for Shepherd University, a position he has held since 2023. Clark served for nine non-consecutive seasons as the head football coach at Catholic University of America, where he compiled a 58–32–1 record and a .643 winning percentage. Clark was the defensive coordinator at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) from 2015 to 2021.
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.
Thomas A. Saunders III was a Wall Street innovator, nationally recognized conservative leader, and philanthropist. He was a longtime Partner and Managing Director of Morgan Stanley and founder of the private equity firm, Saunders, Karp & Megrue. Saunders was also Chairman of The Heritage Foundation and a joint recipient, with his wife Jordan, of the National Humanities Medal for his non-profit service and philanthropy in the realms of public policy, higher education, historic preservation, and the arts.
Robert Leahy Fair was a United States Army lieutenant general and a field commander in Germany during the Cold War. Fair commanded V Corps from August 25, 1975, until January 4, 1976. After 32 years in the U.S. Army and service in three wars, Fair concluded his career in 1976, and died in 1983.
Louis F. "Weenie" Miller was an American college basketball coach, athletic director, and sportcaster. Born in Richmond, Virginia, Miller endured a nine-year head coaching career with Hampden–Sydney College, Washington & Lee University, and, most notably, the Virginia Military Institute, where he led the Keydets to the school's first NCAA tournament appearance in 1964.
Joseph Cantafio is an American retired college basketball coach. Cantafio spent a total of eleven seasons as a head coach, with the Virginia Military Institute (1986–1994) and Furman University (1994–1997). A graduate of the University of Scranton, Cantafio is vice president of The Blewitt Foundation, an organization that supports military families, as well as an assistant director at the Center for Sports Leadershipfor for Virginia Commonwealth University. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
Francis Lee Summers was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. A 1922 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Summers played all three sports in his time as a cadet, as well as track. He was a member of the Keydets' 1920 football team known as the "Flying Squadron", the program's only undefeated and tie-free team. Summers served as athletic director for VMI and Hampden–Sydney College, as well as the Staunton Military Academy. He is a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Richard McIlwaine was the eleventh President of Hampden–Sydney College from 1883 to 1904. He wrote an autobiographical account of his life experiences titled Memories of Three Score Years and Ten.
John Thomas Lewis Preston was an American educator and military officer from Virginia. He was a primary founder and organizer of the Virginia Military Institute, and was one of its first two faculty members. He also served in the Confederate military during the American Civil War.
William Robert Moody Jr. was an American prelate who was Bishop of Lexington from 1945 to 1971.
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