The Richmond–VMI football rivalry is a college football rivalry[citation needed] played between the VMI Keydets and the Richmond Spiders, representing the Virginia Military Institute and University of Richmond, respectively.

[2] Founded in 1839 on the site of the Lexington state arsenal, the Virginia Military Institute, the nation's oldest state-supported military college, first began football in 1873 which featured a one-game season, though the first official team was not fielded until 18 years later in 1891.

The Spiders began playing football in 1890, and won their first national championship in 2008 by defeating Montana 24–7.

Both schools were members of the Southern Conference for several decades until Richmond became an independent in 1977, where they now play in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Richmond currently holds a 12-game winning streak in the series, and VMI has not won since 1996.