VMI Keydets Football TV Schedule, Channels, Times
How to watch live stream VMI Keydets football game today, tonight, or tomorrow? What channel & time?
The VMI Keydets compete in the Southern Conference, and nearly every game on their 2026 schedule streams on ESPN+ — all eight SoCon contests plus the non-conference dates against Idaho State, Bucknell and Davidson. The exception is a big one: the September 5 trip to Virginia Tech airs in prime time on ACC Network, the only linear television window the Keydets will get all fall. VMI is rebuilding under head coach Ashley Ingram after a 1-11 season, and the 2026 slate is front-loaded with travel — the Keydets play four of their first five away from Lexington, including the program's first-ever Week Zero game. Five games are scheduled for Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium, four of them against SoCon opponents.
| VMI Keydets TV Schedule 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Game | Time ET | TV |
| Week 1 (Sat, Aug. 29) | @ Idaho State (Week Zero) | TBD | ESPN+ |
| Week 2 (Sat, Sept. 5) | @ Virginia Tech | 7:30 PM | ACC Network |
| Week 3 (Sat, Sept. 12) | vs Bucknell (Home Opener) | TBD | ESPN+ |
| Week 4 (Sat, Sept. 19) | @ Davidson | 1:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 5 (Sat, Sept. 26) | @ Samford * | 3:30 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 6 (Sat, Oct. 3) | vs Mercer * | TBD | ESPN+ |
| Week 7 (Sat, Oct. 10) | BYE WEEK | — | — |
| Week 8 (Sat, Oct. 17) | @ Wofford * | TBD | ESPN+ |
| Week 9 (Sat, Oct. 24) | vs ETSU * | TBD | ESPN+ |
| Week 10 (Sat, Oct. 31) | @ Chattanooga * | 1:00 PM | ESPN+ |
| Week 11 (Sat, Nov. 7) | @ Tennessee Tech * | TBD | ESPN+ |
| Week 12 (Sat, Nov. 14) | vs The Citadel * (Military Classic of the South) | TBD | ESPN+ |
| Week 13 (Sat, Nov. 21) | vs Furman * | TBD | ESPN+ |
* Southern Conference game. Home games are played at Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium in Lexington, Virginia. VMI has not yet released kickoff times for its home dates; the program's traditional slot is 1:30 PM ET.
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Which VMI Keydets games are worth watching in 2026?
September 5 in Blacksburg is the headline. Virginia Tech opens its season against VMI in a 7:30 PM prime-time slot on ACC Network, and it is the first meeting between the in-state schools since 1984 — a Power Four stage and a national audience for a program that rarely gets either. A week earlier the Keydets play the first Week Zero game in school history, a cross-country trip to Pocatello to face Big Sky member Idaho State. That opening pair means VMI travels more than four thousand miles before its home crowd sees a snap, with Bucknell finally arriving at Foster Stadium on September 12.
The date every cadet circles is November 14, when The Citadel comes to Lexington for the Military Classic of the South with the Silver Shako on the line. It is one of the oldest and most distinctive rivalries in FCS football, played between the country's two remaining state military colleges. The regular season then closes against Furman, a perennial SoCon contender, in what has become a familiar November finish. One other date carries novelty: November 7 sends VMI to Cookeville to face Tennessee Tech for the first time as a conference opponent, with the Golden Eagles joining the SoCon this season after an 11-win campaign.
