Livingstone College along with Hood Theological Seminary began as Zion Wesley Institute in Concord, North Carolina in 1879.

After fundraising by Joseph C. Price and J. W. Hood, the school was closed in Concord and reopened in 1882 a few miles north in Salisbury.

[6] In August 2014, Livingstone submitted plans for converting a former Holiday Inn on Jake Alexander Boulevard into a hospitality school.

Its intercollegiate sports programs include basketball, bowling, cross-country, football, softball, volleyball, tennis, golf, and track and field.

The Blue Bears also maintain a rivalry with their cross town rival Catawba College Indians.