University of Richmond Athletics
Richmond & VMI Renew Football Rivalry With Three-Game Series
08/31/2021 | Football
RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond athletics department announced a three-game series for the Spider football program against instate foe VMI Tuesday. The series will include two games at Robins Stadium and one game at VMI's Foster Stadium. The two teams have not met on the football field since the 2015 season.
"Resuming our football series with VMI has been a priority for some time," Vice President and Director of Athletics John P. Hardt said. "Since arriving as Richmond's AD, restarting this series has been one of the most asked about topics by our fans. The history between the two programs combined with the proximity of our campuses, makes this a terrific rivalry that we are excited to renew."
The series will begin September 20, 2025 at Robins Stadium before heading to Lexington September 9, 2028. The three-game set will conclude back at Robins Stadium September 1, 2029.
The Spiders and Keydets have met 90 times in program history, making the Keydets the second-most played opponent in program history, trailing only the Capital Cup series against William & Mary. Richmond is 45-40-5 all-time against VMI. The series saw the teams play every season for 60 straight years at one point from 1926-1986.
The first ever meeting in the series came November 10, 1893 in Lexington and the last meeting was September 19, 2015 with the Spiders' 42-10 victory. The Spiders have won the past 12 meetings against the Keydets and have won 22 out of the last 24 contests since 1983. Richmond is 33-21-3 all-time at home against the Keydets, including a perfect 3-0 all-time at Robins Stadium. The Spiders last visited Lexington in 2012, posting a 46-7 victory over VMI.
The Spiders' non-conference schedules for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons are already set making the 2025 season the first available date to renew the rivalry. Richmond is slated to play Virginia, Saint Francis and Lehigh in 2022; Morgan State, Michigan State and Delaware State in 2023; Virginia, Wofford, Charleston Southern and Delaware State in 2024.
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"Resuming our football series with VMI has been a priority for some time," Vice President and Director of Athletics John P. Hardt said. "Since arriving as Richmond's AD, restarting this series has been one of the most asked about topics by our fans. The history between the two programs combined with the proximity of our campuses, makes this a terrific rivalry that we are excited to renew."
The series will begin September 20, 2025 at Robins Stadium before heading to Lexington September 9, 2028. The three-game set will conclude back at Robins Stadium September 1, 2029.
The Spiders and Keydets have met 90 times in program history, making the Keydets the second-most played opponent in program history, trailing only the Capital Cup series against William & Mary. Richmond is 45-40-5 all-time against VMI. The series saw the teams play every season for 60 straight years at one point from 1926-1986.
The first ever meeting in the series came November 10, 1893 in Lexington and the last meeting was September 19, 2015 with the Spiders' 42-10 victory. The Spiders have won the past 12 meetings against the Keydets and have won 22 out of the last 24 contests since 1983. Richmond is 33-21-3 all-time at home against the Keydets, including a perfect 3-0 all-time at Robins Stadium. The Spiders last visited Lexington in 2012, posting a 46-7 victory over VMI.
The Spiders' non-conference schedules for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons are already set making the 2025 season the first available date to renew the rivalry. Richmond is slated to play Virginia, Saint Francis and Lehigh in 2022; Morgan State, Michigan State and Delaware State in 2023; Virginia, Wofford, Charleston Southern and Delaware State in 2024.
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