[12] The college competes in NCAA Division I sports and is part of the Patriot League athletic conference and ECAC Hockey.

One year later, the current students and faculty of the school built West Hall, using stone taken from a quarry found on the land.

[15] On March 26, 1846, the State of New York granted a college charter to Hamilton's Collegiate Department; in the two years prior to that, at the request of Hamilton trustees, degrees of forty-five Bachelor's students and at least one Master's candidate were awarded by Columbian College in Washington, D.C. (now the George Washington University), a fellow Baptist institution.

[17] Another group of Baptist dissenters, calling for an end to racial and gender discrimination, had founded New-York Central College in 1849.

[23] In the ensuing years, additional female students participated in courses, including faculty spouses and the wives of enrolled veterans in the post-WWII era.

[24] The national monument at Ellis Island displays a statement by Colgate's eighth President, George Barton Cutten, which has been criticized for its jingoistic anti-immigration sentiment.

"[25] While Cutten's legacy has been marred by the espousal of racist beliefs, the contributions he made to developing the prestige and facilities of Colgate were significant.

[29] Colgate removed the Cutten name from a residential complex located between Whitnall Field and Huntington Gym in 2017.

[34] The principal campus plan was created by Ernest W. Bowditch in 1891–1893, drawing on earlier recommendations by Frederick Law Olmsted.

[35][36] Probably the most distinctive building on campus is Colgate Memorial Chapel, which was built in 1918 and is used for lectures, performances, concerts, and religious services.

The institute was created to connect the Colgate community to its surrounding region, as well as to give back and help economically and socially sustain the area.

[50] Since 2013, there have been plans to move the Picker collection to a new facility, which Colgate University has named the Center for Art and Culture.

[52] Other than this online gallery, all exhibition, and educational programs have been temporarily ceased due to the university's thorough assessment of the works in anticipation for the move to the new Center for Arts and Culture.

Colgate University edits and publishes an international academic journal entitled Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England.

[54] Colgate offers 56 undergraduate majors[55] leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree, all of which are registered officially with the New York State Department of Education.

[56] Its most popular undergraduate majors, by 2021 graduates, were:[57] In addition to regular campus courses, the university offers 22[58] semester-long off-campus study groups each year, including programs in Australia, China, Japan, India, several Western European countries, Washington, D.C., and the National Institutes of Health.

For the admitted students with a total family income of under $125,000, Colgate offers financial aid packages that involve no loan.

[61] In 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked Colgate as the 22nd out of 211 best liberal arts colleges in the country, tied with University of Richmond.

[67] Colgate is governed by a board of trustees composed of 35 members: 31 alumni, three parents of students, and the current president.

[71] Juniors and seniors live down the hill in a number of residences, such as theme houses on Broad Street, apartment complexes or in "townhouses" located further away from campus.

[81] Following a number of incidents related to fraternities and sororities on campus, in 2005, the university decided to purchase the Greek houses.

[86] In addition to this, Colgate University also enforces a 13 mile per hour speed limit on its upper campus area.

[88] In 1936, the Colgate swim team made its first trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for spring break training at the Casino Pool.

This became a regular tradition for Colgate that caught on with other schools across the country and proved to be the genesis of the college spring break trip.

[95] A new mascot was introduced in 2006. Colgate University's football team was selected to share the 1932 national championship by Parke H. Davis in 1933[96] and appeared in the Associated Press top-level polls in 1942 and 1977.

The 1932 team was "unbeaten, untied, unscored upon, and uninvited", as it registered shutouts against all nine opponents, but was not invited to the 1933 Rose Bowl.

[98] In the 2003 season, the Raiders made it to the NCAA I-AA championship game in football for the first time, where they lost to the University of Delaware.

[101] Colgate's teams (with the exception of football, golf, and men's hockey) also compete annually against Syracuse University.