VMI Keydets football
2025 VMI Keydets football team
First season	1873; 153 years ago
Athletic director	Jamaal Walton
Head coach	Ashley Ingram 1st season, 0–0 (–)
Location	Lexington, Virginia
Stadium	Foster Stadium (capacity: 10,000)
Field	Alumni Memorial Field
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	Southern
Colors	Red, white, and yellow[1]
All-time record	499–758–42 (.400)
Bowl record	6–18 (.250)
Conference championships
SoCon: 1951, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1974, 1977, 2020
Rivalries	The Citadel (rivalry) Richmond (rivalry) Virginia Tech (rivalry; dormant) William & Mary (rivalry)
Uniforms
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 has played their home games at 10,000-seat Alumni Memorial Field 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.^[2] 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.