Dear Keydet Nation,
The 2025-2026 academic year has started at VMI. The rat mass of 2026+3 has matriculated and the Old Corps are back on post. Our fall sports are in full swing, and we had a boost of MOEmentum this last month.
Summa Summa Summertime!!
This summer 75 cadet athletes spent time on post taking classes, conducting research and practicing for their upcoming season throughout the summer. Around 67 rats spent time on post taking part in the Summer Transition Program. Several cadet-athletes served as counselors within the College Orientation Workshop, Inc. (COW), a four-week challenging educational enrichment program transforming the lives of promising, male, minority and at-risk high school students. VMI was well represented when the Southern Conference announced its Spring 2025 All-Academic team and 2024-25 Academic Honor Roll. A total of 180 cadet-athletes were named to the 2024-25 Academic Honor Roll. Thirty-six cadet-athletes earned the SoCon Commissioner's Medal while 24 cadet-athletes made the Spring 2025 SoCon All-Academic team. In August, we announced the hiring of two head coaches, Head Lacrosse Coach
Taylor Mendoza and Head Cross Country Coach
Tony Skiles.
MOEmentum
The VMI community had some extra
MOEmentum as we unveiled an official mascot logo, an official "KEYDETS" wordmark and an exclusive font. Since the announcement, we have seen cadets, alums, kids and folks within the community sporting the new merchandise and apparel. Each week a new slate of items is added to the MOEmentum collection so stay tuned for updates. Click the
link to purchase or stop by the VMI Bookstore the next time you visit post.
In late August, we kicked off the
Tactical Timeout Radio Show presented by 96.7 3WZ and sponsored by the Keydet Club at Devils Backbone. The weekly show will air every Tuesday from the Devils Backbone Brewing Outpost Tap Room and Kitchen, with a few shows held on post for the Corps of Cadets to take part in. Hosted by Mark Potter of 3WZ, the show will not only feature Head Football Coach Danny Rocco, but coaches and staff from all 18 Division I athletic teams. Speaking of the Whole Damn Team, we held our second annual
Keydet Kickstart to welcome back our cadet athletes, introduce them to VMI coaches, staff and institutional leadership. The Keydet Kickstart has become a fun and exciting event that everyone in the department enjoys. This past weekend, VMI Football had a big
win vs Ferrum College, it was fun to see the VMI community cheering for our Keydets and welcome back the reunion classes. My rats celebrated their 15-year reunion. Rah Virginia Mil 2010!! Foster stadium had some upgrades to enhance the fan experience such as the Moe Zone, the presence of the VMI Bookstore in-venue and several new food options. Value Makes Impact!
Friendly Reminders
Football tickets are on sale; we would love to see you in Foster Stadium. VMI Athletics started a partnership with VOZZI, a text messaging platform that will help streamline news from Keydet Athletics. VOZZI will enable VMI Athletics to provide news, updates, game day events, merchandise and more. Sign up below for VOZZI now!!!
Additional Links:
The Plan Moving Forward
Our cadet athletes, staff, coaches and administrators are working diligently each day to improve the overall athletics department, and we are still in development of our athletics operations plan. This month, we are preparing for our upcoming Board of Visitors meetings. It's the Whole Damn Team Keydet Nation. Thank you for your support. VALUES MAKES IMPACT!
Rah Virginia Mil!
Value Makes Impact!
Jamaal Walton
Director of Athletics
Virginia Military Institute
