| Wide: | yes |
| Military Classic of the South | |
| Team1: | The Citadel Bulldogs |
| Team1logo: | The Citadel Athletics script.svg |
| Team2: | VMI Keydets |
| Team2logo: | VMI Keydets logo.svg |
| Sport: | Football |
| Firstmeeting: | October 16, 1920 VMI, 35–0 |
| Mostrecent: | October 14, 2023 VMI, 17–13 |
| Nextmeeting: | 2024 at Lexington, Virginia |
| Total: | 79[1] |
| Series: | The Citadel leads, 44–33–2 |
| Largestvictory: | The Citadel, 50–0 (1992) |
| Longeststreak: | The Citadel, 12 (2003–2018) |
| Currentstreak: | VMI, 1 (2023–present) |
| Trophy: | Silver Shako |
| Trophy Series: | The Citadel leads, 30–13–1 |
The Military Classic of the South is an American college football rivalry game played between The Citadel and the Virginia Military Institute.[2] The first game between the two military schools 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.
The 79th and most recent game of the series saw VMI defeat The Citadel 17–13 at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina.
The teams first played each other in 1920. The trophy that is currently awarded, the Silver Shako, was introduced in 1976.[3] [4]
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 44–33–2. 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.[5] [6]
| 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[7] [8] | |
| April 16, 2022 | Gray–Minor Stadium • Lexington, Virginia | VMI | 3–2 | 132 | ||||
| April 17, 2022 | Gray–Minor Stadium • Lexington, Virginia | VMI | 22–5 | 154 | ||||
| Basketball | January 15, 2022 | McAlister Field House • Charleston, SC | VMI | 90–85 | 1,256 | The Citadel | 60–58[9] [10] | |
| 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[11] [12] | |
| October 25, 2022 | 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[13] [14] | |