perhaps the most famous athletic story in vmi history was the two-year run of the 1976 and 1977 basketball teams. the 1976 squad advanced within one game of the final four before bowing to undefeated rutgers in the east regional final, and in 1977 vmi finished with 26 wins and just four losses, still a school record, and reached the "sweet 16" round of the ncaa tournament.