VMI Keydets football The VMI Keydets football team represents the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington , Virginia . The Keydets compete in the Big South Conference of the NCAA Division I FCS , and are currently coached by Sparky Woods , now in his 4th year . VMI plays their home contests at 10 , 000 - seat Alumni Memorial Field , as they have since 1962 . VMI is biggest rivals against The Citadel , as the two teams have battled 67 times , with Citadel leading the series 35 - 30 - 2 . The winner of each game receives an award known as the " Silver Shako " , which has rested at The Citadel since 2003 . The last contest occurred on October 29 , 2011 , as The Citadel won convincingly 41 - 14 . 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 . History . 19th century . VMI football dates back to 1873 with a one game season , featuring a 4 – 2 loss to Washington and Lee . No player or coaching records are known from that game . However , the Keydets would not have another intercollegiate team until 1891 under coach Walter Taylor . The Keydets went 3 – 0 – 1 with a win and tie against Washington and Lee and by defeating St . John ' s and Pantops Academy . VMI had a combined 3 coaches and a total record of 32 – 10 – 2 during the 19th century , setting the tone as being one of the state ' s top football schools . 1900 - 1920 . VMI continued to have success on the field during the early 1900 ' s . Sam Walker became the head coach from 1900 – 1902 , and , after compiling a head coaching record of 11 – 7 – 3 , was replaced by future College Football Hall of Fame r William Roper . Roper was less successful , going 5 – 6 with the Keydets in only two years . Nevertheless , VMI continued their winning ways in 1911 , under Alpha Brummage . In two years with Brummage , VMI went 14 - 2 , stumbling only to Virginia and St . John ' s . They were 7 – 1 – 2 under Henry Poaque the following year . In 1920 , Blandy Clarkson lead VMI to its third ever perfect season at 9 – 0 . VMI had joined the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association at this point in time , and had been a member since 1918 . Alumni Field . With the finished construction of Alumni Field in 1921 , VMI football no longer needed to play on the Parade Ground situated in front of the barracks . The stadium was placed around the same place it is today , and was completed at a total cost of $ 69 , 000 . The Keydets went 3 – 5 – 1 in the stadium ' s inaugural year , which included key wins over in - state opponents Roanoke , Hampden – Sydney , and a stunning victory over Virginia . Blandy Clarkson era . After two years with VMI , the Keydets were 12 – 5 – 1 under Clarkson . He led the Institute to a 16 – 3 record during the years of 1923 and 1924 , which was just when VMI joined the Southern Conference . In their first SoCon season , VMI went 6 – 3 – 1 , good for 13th place in a massive conference of 22 . After Clarkson departed from the Institute following the 1926 season , he totaled a record 44 – 21 – 2 in seven years , the most wins by any Keydet head coach at the time . William Raftery era . Following the departure of Clarkson , Worcester , Massachusetts - native William " Bill " Raftery took over head coaching duties of VMI . The Keydets were 6 – 4 his first season , ranking among the last in the SoCon . Raftery led the team to an 8 – 2 season in 1929 , but it was the last winning season under Raftery ' s reign , which lasted until 1936 . In ten years his record at VMI was 38 – 55 – 5 . Allison Hubert era . Allison Hubert took over for his predecessor Raftery in the 1937 season . Nicknamed " Pooley " , Hubert was a Mississippi native and a veteran of World War I . After leading Alabama to the 1926 national championship , Hubert coached several sports at Southern Miss in the early 1930 ' s . He went 5 – 5 in his first season with the Keydets . Hubert ' s most successful season with VMI was in 1940 , where the squad finished 7 – 2 – 1 , though it was only good enough to get them 7th in the conference . Hubert left with a 43 – 45 – 8 record under his belt after ten seasons . Tom Nugent era . When Arthur Morton left VMI for Mississippi State in 1949 , he was 9 – 8 – 1 with the Keydets . Tom Nugent took his place that January . Nugent was famous for developing the I formation , though it did not happen until the year after he left VMI . Though the first two years were nothing special , Nugent took the 1951 squad to their first SoCon championship with a 7 – 3 record . The season included a 34 – 0 shutout of Richmond , a 29 – 6 drubbing of Wofford , a 27 – 21 win over rival Citadel , and a 20 – 7 win over Virginia Tech in the season finale . Nugent left following the 1952 season . Alumni Memorial Field and John McKenna era . Possibly the greatest decades in VMI football history were under John McKenna . In his thirteen years with the Keydets , McKenna had a record of 62 – 60 – 8 , and won four SoCon championships . These occurred in 1957 , 1959 , 1960 and 1962 . In the same year VMI won the 1962 Southern Conference , 10 , 000 - seat Alumni Memorial Field was built . Costs were around $ 250 , 000 . Bob Thalman era . Bob Thalman came to VMI in 1971 . Coming from the University of Richmond , he previously coached at Hampden – Syndey . Thalman brought another two SoCon championships to VMI in 1974 and 1977 . He departed in 1984 after a miserable 1 – 9 season . 1985 - 2002 . Eddie Williamson took over the head coaching position for four years , all losing seasons . He was followed by Jim Shuck , Bill Stewart , Ted Cain , and Cal McCombs until 2005 . No coach could produce a winning season for the Keydets . Big South . In 2003 , VMI joined the Big South Conference after 79 years in the SoCon . VMI still could not get back to its winning ways . They were under the direction McCombs , who would be fired after 2005 . Jim Reid would coach for two years , with a 3 – 19 record . Sparky Woods , the current coach for the Keydets , became the 30th head coach in 2008 . Still , VMI has not posted a winning season since 1981 . Championships . Bowl games . The Keydets have six wins and 18 losses in 24 minor bowl games . This includes nine Tobacco Bowl s and 15 Oyster Bowl s . Head coaches . Sparky Woods , the current Keydet head coach , is the 30th all - time . ( Note : From 1892 - 1894 , the team had no coach ) Facilities . Alumni Memorial Field . Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium , located on the VMI post , has been the home of VMI football games since 1962 . Completed at a cost of around $ 250 , 000 , Foster seats 10 , 000 . The stadium went through a major $ 12 million renovation process in 2006 , with new ticket booths , concourses , restrooms , and a new scoreboard and jumbotron . The field ' s surface is Bermuda Grass . The VMI Lacrosse team also plays about 5 home games here each Spring . Sprinturf Field . Sprinturf Field serves as the Keydets practice facility , made of artificial grass . It also serves host to 1 - 2 lacrosse games throughout the season . VMI chose a kangaroo to represent the school as a mascot in 1947 , when two cheerleaders saw one on a magazine cover and thought how " uncommon the animal was as a mascot " . Originally the kangaroo was named TD Bound , but later changed to Moe at an unknown time . VMI is one of four colleges with a marsupial mascot . Zippy of Akron is the one other school with a kangaroo mascot . Around 20 minutes before VMI home games , the Corps of Cadets march from their barracks down to Foster Stadium while the regimental band plays . VMI uniquely requires every student to attend the football games from start to finish . A replica of a 1750 Howitzer cannon , " Little John " is a corps - owned cannon fires when the Keydets come on to the field , and after every VMI score and quarter end . The one currently in use was designed by Col . Cary S . Tucker . The previous one was retired to the VMI museum after the undefeated 1957 football team finished . Rivalries . Arguably VMI ' s biggest rival , The Citadel and the Keydets have played 66 times in a match up known as the Military Classic of the South . The teams first met in 1920 , where VMI cruised to a 35 – 0 shutout win in Lynchburg . The most recent meeting occurred in 2011 , when The Citadel prevailed 41 – 14 . The Silver Shako ( the trophy awarded to the winner ) has rested in Charleston since 2003 . The Classic has been set to be played once every year through 2016 , with the current contract .