Sport | Football |
---|---|
First meeting | October 16, 1920 VMI, 35–0 |
Latest meeting | October 19, 2024 The Citadel, 13–10 |
Next meeting | November 1, 2025 at Charleston, SC |
Trophy | Silver Shako |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 80 [1] |
All-time series | The Citadel leads, 45–33–2 |
Trophy series | The Citadel leads, 31–13–1 |
Largest victory | The Citadel, 50–0 (1992) |
Longest win streak | The Citadel, 12 (2003–2018) |
Current win streak | The Citadel, 1 (2024–present) |
The original "Military Classic of the South" was a football game played on Thanksgiving Day between Virginia Tech (VPI) and the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) beginning in 1913 and lasting until 1985. [2] [3] Unfortunately, as Virginia Tech continued to expand its student body, the game quickly became unmatched and VMI left the series in 1985.
Today, the current Military Classic of the South is an American college football rivalry game played between the civilian students and cadet students from The Citadel and the cadets from Virginia Military Institute. [4] The first game between VMI and The Citadel was in 1920. The game has been played nearly continuously since World War II; since then, only five seasons have seen the game not played. Currently, The Citadel is expanding its student body to become a larger comprehensive college and bringing in transfer graduate student athletes, while VMI remains all-military. Thus, the future of this series may be uncertain. [5]
VMI and The Citadel first played each other in 1920. The trophy that is currently awarded, the Silver Shako, was introduced in 1976. [6] [7]
The game has been played nearly continuously since World War II, with no matchup in 1956, 2004, and 2008–2010. The Citadel had won the past twelve meetings before VMI's victory in 2019. The Citadel leads the series 45–33–2. At one point in 1967, the Keydets led the series 18–8–1. The Military Classic is the thirteenth oldest still-played rivalry in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of the NCAA. Both teams were members of the Southern Conference (SoCon) from 1936 until 2003, when VMI left for the Big South Conference and were reunited in the SoCon when VMI returned in 2014. [8] [9]
The Citadel victories | VMI victories | Tie games |
|
Sport | Last Matchup | All-Time Series | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Location | Winner | Score | Attendance | Leader | Record | |
Baseball | April 15, 2022 | Gray–Minor Stadium • Lexington, Virginia | VMI | 5–2 | 1,814 | The Citadel | 85–39 [10] [11] |
April 16, 2022 | Gray–Minor Stadium • Lexington, Virginia | VMI | 3–2 | 132 | |||
April 17, 2022 | Gray–Minor Stadium • Lexington, Virginia | The Citadel | 22–5(7) | 154 | |||
Basketball | January 15, 2022 | McAlister Field House • Charleston, SC | VMI | 90–85 | 1,256 | The Citadel | 60–58 [12] [13] |
February 12, 2022 | Cameron Hall • Lexington, VA | The Citadel | 83–79 | 3,745 | |||
Women's Soccer | October 23, 2022 | WLI Field • Charleston, SC | The Citadel | 5–1 | 203 | The Citadel | 10–7 [14] [15] |
October 25, 2022 [a] | WLI Field • Charleston, SC | The Citadel | 3–0 | 176 | |||
Wrestling | February 20, 2022 | McAlister Field House • Charleston, SC | The Citadel | 32–5 | N/A | VMI | 43–25 [16] [17] |
Cameron Hall is a 5,029–seat multi-purpose arena in Lexington, Virginia. It was built in 1981 and is home to the Virginia Military Institute Keydets basketball team. Although mainly used for basketball, the arena also holds VMI's commencement every May, as well as other large-scale events. It was named after brothers Bruce and Daniel Cameron, VMI Class of 1938 and 1942, respectively.
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.
The 2011 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by seventh year head coach Kevin Higgins and played their home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium. They are a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 2–6 in SoCon play to finish in eighth place.
The 1915 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in their 25th season of organized football. Frank Gorton lead the Keydets to another successful year with a 6–2–1 record.
The 2014 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. It was VMI's 124th football season, as the Keydets were led by seventh-year head coach Sparky Woods. They played their home games at 10,000-seat Alumni Memorial Field, as they have since 1962. This was VMI's first season returning to the Southern Conference (SoCon), following an 11-year stint in the Big South Conference.
The Citadel Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent The Citadel. All sports participate in the NCAA Division I except football, which competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Since 1936, varsity sports have competed in the Southern Conference. The Citadel fields teams in sixteen sports, nine for men and seven for women.
The Citadel–Furman football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played by The Citadel Bulldogs football team of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina and the Furman Paladins football team of Furman University.
The 2014 Southern Conference football season was the 93rd season of college football for the Southern Conference (SoCon) and formed a part of the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
The 1920 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in their 30th season of organized football, during the 1920 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Blandy Clarkson, the Keydets went 9–0 and outscored opponents 431 to 20. College Football Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Leech starred on the team, leading the nation in scoring with 210 points. Leech was selected third-team All-America by Walter Camp. The season included the first instance of the rivalry with The Citadel, which would later become known as the Military Classic of the South. The team was nicknamed "The Flying Squadron."
The 2015 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. It was VMI's 125th football season and the Keydets were led by first year head coach Scott Wachenheim. They played their home games at 10,000–seat Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium, as they have since 1962. This was VMI's second season as a member of the Southern Conference, following 11 seasons in the Big South Conference, which followed 78 years in the Southern Conference. They finished the season 2–9, 1–6 in SoCon play to finish in last place.
The 1923 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute in their 33rd season of organized football, during the 1923 college football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Blandy Clarkson, the Keydets went 9–1 and outscored opponents 224 to 23. Tackle Charlie Barbour was All-Southern.
The VMI–Virginia Tech football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Keydets of Virginia Military Institute and the Hokies of Virginia Tech. The teams first played in 1894 and last played in 1984. They are scheduled to meet again in 2026, after a 42-year hiatus. The two schools are only about 80 miles apart in western Virginia and were in the same conference from 1924 to 1964.
The 1974 VMI Keydets football team was an American football team that represented the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. In their fourth year under head coach Bob Thalman, the team compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, and finishing as SoCon champion.
The 1947 VMI Keydets football team was an American football team that represented the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) as a member of the Southern Conference during the 1947 college football season. In its first season under head coach Arthur Morton, the team compiled a 3–5–1 record, finished in 11th place in the conference, and was outscored by a total of 152 to 120.
The 2019 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. It was VMI's 129th football season. The Keydets were led by fifth-year head coach Scott Wachenheim. They played their home games at 10,000–seat Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 5–7, 4–4 in SoCon play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place. Their 5 wins were the most achieved in a single season since finishing 6–6 in 2003.
The 2020 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. It was VMI's 130th football season. The Keydets were led by sixth-year head coach Scott Wachenheim. They played their home games at 10,000–seat Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium. They are a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon).
The 1921 VMI Keydets football team was an American football team that represented the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) during the 1921 college football season as a member of the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In their second year under head coach Blandy Clarkson, the team compiled an overall record of 3–5–1.
The 1929 VMI Keydets football team was an American football team that represented the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) during the 1929 college football season as a member of the Southern Conference. In their third year under head coach W. C. Raftery, the team compiled an overall record of 8–2.
The 1931 VMI Keydets football team was an American football team that represented the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) during the 1931 college football season as a member of the Southern Conference. In their fifth year under head coach W. C. Raftery, the team compiled an overall record of 3–6–1.
The 1946 VMI Keydets football team was an American football team that represented the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) during the 1946 college football season as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). In their tenth year under head coach Pooley Hubert, the team compiled a 4–5–1 record and was outscored by a total of 203 to 133.