VMI Holds “On Winning” Symposium
Virginia Military Institute held a three-day seminar in June for all its athletic coaches and staff, along with support Institute personnel, to study and share best practices and procedures of competitive success.
The “On Winning” symposium, proposed by Superintendent Lt. Gen. David Furness ’87 and facilitated by the Center of Leadership and Ethics, provided a forum for the participants to delve into ways to instill and sustain a winning culture without compromising the characteristics and traits that make VMI unique. Specifically, the symposium emphasized the three core values of academics, military leadership, and athletics, symbolized by VMI’s Three-Legged Stool.
Guest speakers included a mix of exemplary military leaders and athletic coaches. Retired Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller, the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps, spoke on organizational leadership.
Retired Navy Rear Adm. Jamie Sands, who served as commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, spoke about optimizing high performance teams. Former VMI head soccer coach, Ben Freakley, Ed.D., CMPC, founder of Ready. Set. Resilient., a coaching business that uses best practices to help individuals and teams optimize performance, shared his thoughts on winning at VMI and the psychology of coaching. Ivin Japser, football coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, discussed the winning culture there.
Retired Marine Corps Maj. Mike Ettore, author and founder of Fidelis Leadership Group, an executive coaching and leadership development firm, talked about servant leadership, trust and standards. Leonard Hamilton, who retired in 2025 as the winningest basketball coach in Florida State history, provided insights on establishing a winning culture.
The keynote speaker was Urban Meyer, analyst on FOX Sport’s “Big Noon Kickoff” and former head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars who was inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 2025. Meyer also headed up the Florida Gators football team when they won national titles in 2006 and 2008, and oversaw an Ohio State third-string quarterback defeat Oregon in his last college national title. He closed the symposium with his insights on talent acquisition and culture, highlighting relentless effort, competitive excellence, and brotherhood.
In addition to hearing expert speakers, participants divided into working groups to brainstorm and discuss topics such as collectively defining success of athletics; identifying the non-negotiable behaviors demanded of a VMI athlete; retaining and graduating athletes; and increasing athlete acceptance, compliance, and involvement in Corps life.
Jamaal Walton ’07, director of intercollegiate athletics at VMI, stated the symposium was an opportunity for Institute leaders to place their sole focus on winning in athletics.
“It allowed each individual the voice and space to listen, learn, and contribute to enhancing the athletics leg of the stool. All three legs are equally important, but the attention paid during the symposium has allowed the Institute to take the necessary steps to not just compete but to win! It was a ‘whole damn team’ effort!”
Men’s head basketball coach, Andrew Wilson, agreed with Walton. “It was great having the opportunity to learn from two legendary hall of fame coaches, Leonard Hamilton and Urban Meyer. All of the speakers were great, but getting to hear from two of the best in the history of the college sports industry and gain insight into what made them successful was very special.”
