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.

Quick Facts Sport, First meeting ...
Military Classic of the South
SportFootball
First meetingOctober 16, 1920
VMI, 35–0
Latest meetingOctober 19, 2024
The Citadel, 13–10
Next meetingNovember 1, 2025
at Charleston, SC
TrophySilver Shako
Statistics
Meetings total80[1]
All-time seriesThe Citadel leads, 45–33–2
Trophy seriesThe Citadel leads, 31–13–1
Largest victoryThe Citadel, 50–0 (1992)
Longest win streakThe Citadel, 12 (2003–2018)
Current win streakThe Citadel, 1 (2024–present)
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Locations of The Citadel and VMI

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]

Current History

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]

Game results

The Citadel victoriesVMI victoriesTie games
More information No., Date ...
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Other varsity sports

More information Sport, Last Matchup ...
Sport Last Matchup All-Time Series
Date Location Winner Score Attendance Leader Record
Baseball April 15, 2022 Gray–Minor StadiumLexington, 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 HouseCharleston, SC VMI 90–85 1,256 The Citadel 60–58[12][13]
February 12, 2022 Cameron HallLexington, VA The Citadel 83–79 3,745
Women's Soccer October 23, 2022 WLI FieldCharleston, 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]
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  1. SoCon Tournament

See also

References

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