The VMI Keydets football team compete in the Southern Conference of the NCAA Division I FCS. The Keydets achieved their first non-losing seasons since 1981 in 2002 and 2003 and their first winning season since 1981 (and a Southern Conference championship) in 2020. Today, VMI’s biggest rival is The Citadel, as the two teams have battled 72 times. VMI competed in the SoCon for 79 years from 1924 to 2002, and moved to the Big South in 2003, but returned to the SoCon beginning in the 2014–2015 academic year. VMI earned their first trip to the FCS playoffs since the subdivision’s inception in 1978, as a result of being the 2020 Southern Conference Football Champions, accomplishing their first winning season since 1981. VMI captured their first of eight conference titles in 1951. The 2020 VMI Football team won the Southern Conference title with a 6-1 record, and a FCS Playoff berth. It is their first winning season since 1981.