VMI–Virginia Tech football rivalry

The VMI–Virginia Tech football rivalry is an American college football rivalry^[1] between the Keydets of Virginia Military Institute and the Hokies of Virginia Tech (formerly known as the Virginia Polytechnic Institute "Fighting Gobblers"). 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 (the Southern Conference) from 1924 to 1964.

VMI–Virginia Tech football rivalry

VMI Keydets Virginia Tech Hokies
First meeting	November 29, 1894 VMI 10, VPI 6
Latest meeting	October 6, 1984 Virginia Tech 54, VMI 7
Next meeting	September 5, 2026
Statistics
Meetings total	79
All-time series	Virginia Tech leads, 49–25–5
Largest victory	VPI 70, VMI 12 (1966)
Longest win streak	VPI, 7 (1901–1908)

75km
50miles

Virginia Tech

VMI

  

Locations of Virginia Tech and VMI

History

 

The first VMI-VPI game

The two schools first met in 1894 and played annually from 1913 to 1971, usually in Roanoke on Thanksgiving Day. The game was called the Military Classic of the South, because it matched a state-supported military academy against an engineering school which had mandatory ROTC for the male student body until 1964. (Virginia Tech and Texas A&M are the only major public universities still designated as senior military colleges, because of their corps of cadets and large ROTC programs). Today, the rivalry game between VMI and The Citadel bears the name Military Classic of the South.

After a one-year hiatus, the VMI-Virginia Tech rivalry resumed in 1973 for another dozen seasons. The teams played in Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium at Blacksburg in odd-numbered years and in 1978; the remaining games in even-numbered years were at either Richmond or Norfolk, in the Tobacco Bowl (1974, 1976) and Oyster Bowl (1980, 1982, 1984), respectively, with VMI serving as the "home" team. Games tentatively scheduled for Blacksburg in 1986 and 1987 and Norfolk in 1988 were never played.^[2]

When the rivalry went dormant after the 1984 Oyster Bowl, Virginia Tech led the series 49–25–5.^[3] At 79 games, it is the second-longest series for the Hokies and fourth-longest for the Keydets. Because of the long pause in the VMI-Virginia Tech series, the Virginia–Virginia Tech rivalry has emerged as the dominant one in the state.

In 2017, Virginia Tech and VMI agreed to renew their rivalry in a one-time matchup on September 5, 2026, at Blacksburg. Based on current scheduling commitments, their next opportunity to meet would be in 2031, when Virginia Tech next has an open date.^[4]

Game results

VMI victories

Virginia Tech victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 November 29, 1894 Staunton, VA VMI 10–6 2 November 28, 1895 Lynchburg, VA VAMC 6–4 3 November 26, 1896 Roanoke, VA VPI 24–0 4 November 25, 1900 Roanoke, VA VMI 5–0 5 November 28, 1901 Norfolk, VA VPI 21–0 6 November 27, 1902 Norfolk, VA VPI 50–5 7 November 24, 1904 Roanoke, VA VPI 17–5 8 November 30, 1905 Richmond, VA VPI 34–0 9 November 9, 1907 Roanoke, VA VPI 22–0 10 October 24, 1908 Roanoke, VA VPI 10–0 11 November 27, 1913 Roanoke, VA Tie 6–6 12 November 26, 1914 Roanoke, VA VPI 3–0 13 November 25, 1915 Roanoke, VA VPI 27–9 14 November 30, 1916 Roanoke, VA VPI 23–14 15 November 29, 1917 Roanoke, VA VPI 6–0 16 November 28, 1918 Roanoke, VA VPI 6–0 17 November 27, 1919 Roanoke, VA VMI 13–0 18 November 25, 1920 Roanoke, VA VMI 24–7 19 November 24, 1921 Roanoke, VA VPI 26–7 20 November 30, 1922 Roanoke, VA VPI 7–3 21 November 29, 1923 Roanoke, VA VMI 6–0 22 November 27, 1924 Roanoke, VA Tie 0–0 23 November 26, 1925 Roanoke, VA VPI 7–0 24 November 25, 1926 Roanoke, VA VPI 14–7 25 November 24, 1927 Roanoke, VA VMI 12–9 26 November 29, 1928 Roanoke, VA VMI 16–6 27 November 28, 1929 Roanoke, VA VMI 14–0 28 November 27, 1930 Roanoke, VA VPI 24–0 29 November 26, 1931 Roanoke, VA VPI 13–6 30 November 24, 1932 Roanoke, VA VPI 26–0 31 November 30, 1933 Roanoke, VA Tie 0–0 32 November 29, 1934 Roanoke, VA VPI 13–0 33 November 28, 1935 Roanoke, VA VPI 12–6 34 November 26, 1936 Roanoke, VA VPI 6–0 35 November 25, 1937 Roanoke, VA VPI 12–6 36 November 24, 1938 Roanoke, VA Tie 2–2 37 November 30, 1939 Roanoke, VA VMI 19–7 38 November 21, 1940 Roanoke, VA VMI 14–0 39 November 20, 1941 Lynchburg, VA VMI 15–10 40 November 26, 1942 Roanoke, VA VPI 20–6 No. Date Location Winner Score 41 November 22, 1945 Roanoke, VA VMI 7–0 42 November 28, 1946 Roanoke, VA VPI 20–7 43 November 27, 1947 Roanoke, VA VMI 28–14 44 November 25, 1948 Roanoke, VA VMI 33–7 45 November 24, 1949 Roanoke, VA Tie 28–28 46 November 23, 1950 Roanoke, VA VMI 27–0 47 November 22, 1951 Roanoke, VA VMI 20–14 48 November 27, 1952 Roanoke, VA VPI 26–7 49 November 26, 1953 Roanoke, VA VMI 28–13 50 November 25, 1954 Roanoke, VA #16 VPI 46–9 51 November 24, 1955 Roanoke, VA VPI 39–13 52 November 22, 1956 Roanoke, VA VPI 45–0 53 November 28, 1957 Roanoke, VA VMI 14–6 54 November 27, 1958 Roanoke, VA VPI 21–16 55 November 26, 1959 Roanoke, VA VMI 37–12 56 November 24, 1960 Roanoke, VA VPI 13–12 57 November 23, 1961 Roanoke, VA VMI 6–0 58 November 22, 1962 Roanoke, VA VMI 14–9 59 November 28, 1963 Roanoke, VA VPI 35–20 60 November 26, 1964 Roanoke, VA VPI 35–13 61 November 25, 1965 Roanoke, VA VPI 44–13 62 November 24, 1966 Roanoke, VA VPI 70–12 63 November 23, 1967 Roanoke, VA VMI 12–10 64 November 28, 1968 Roanoke, VA VPI 55–6 65 November 27, 1969 Roanoke, VA VPI 52–0 66 November 21, 1970 Roanoke, VA Virginia Tech 20–14 67 November 27, 1971 Roanoke, VA Virginia Tech 34–0 68 November 17, 1973 Blacksburg, VA VMI 22–21 69 October 5, 1974 Richmond, VA VMI 22–17 70 November 15, 1975 Blacksburg, VA Virginia Tech 33–0 71 October 9, 1976 Richmond, VA Virginia Tech 37–7 72 November 26, 1977 Blacksburg, VA Virginia Tech 27–7 73 November 18, 1978 Blacksburg, VA Virginia Tech 28–2 74 November 17, 1979 Blacksburg, VA Virginia Tech 27–20 75 November 15, 1980 Norfolk, VA Virginia Tech 21–6 76 November 21, 1981 Blacksburg, VA VMI 6–0 77 November 20, 1982 Norfolk, VA Virginia Tech 14–3 78 September 24, 1983 Blacksburg, VA Virginia Tech 28–0 79 October 6, 1984 Norfolk, VA Virginia Tech 54–7 Series: Virginia Tech leads 49–25–5

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "Team traditions: Virginia Tech's cannon deeply rooted in history". Sports Illustrated. September 2, 2014. As with all great college traditions, Skipper was born out of a fierce rivalry – in this case, with nearby Virginia Military Institute. VMI and Virginia Tech competed in sports for years, and each time VMI beat the Hokies, students would fire off "Little John," their college cannon. The VMI cadets also would blast Little John before each rivalry game, then chant 'Where's your cannon!?'
2. "Sponsorship Killed Tech-VMI for Roanoke". The Roanoke Times (Roanoke, Virginia). October 5, 1984. Retrieved May 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Virginia Tech vs VMI Series". College Football Research Center. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
4. "Future Virginia Tech Football Schedules". FBSchedules.com.