The Spiders compete in the Division I FCS of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports.

The origins of the name are somewhat uncertain, an apocryphal version describes a baseball team composed of Richmond students and city residents that was said to have taken on the "Spiders" name after Ragland Chesterman of the Richmond Times-Dispatch used the term to refer to pitcher Puss Ellyson's lanky arms and stretching kick.

And while Ragland Chesterman did write for the Richmond Times, he wrote a society column, not sports news.

Lori Taylor serves as the overall director of all of Richmond's cross country and track and field teams.

[9] The Richmond Spiders women's cross country and track & field teams have been coached by Lori Taylor since 2001.

The Spiders' cross country teams have won the Atlantic 10 conference championship six times under Taylor (2003, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, and 2018).

[17] The University of Richmond's women's golf team has been coached by Calle Nielson since 2019 and has competed as a member of the Patriot League since the 2014-15 season.

[22] The University of Richmond's women's lacrosse team has been coached by Allison Kwolek since 2012, and the Spiders' home field is E. Claiborne Robins Stadium.

[30][31] The Richmond women's tennis team has been coached by Mark Wesselink since 1991, and the Spiders have won nine Atlantic 10 championships during his tenure (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012).

Initially, in the late nineteenth century, the only sports at Richmond College were baseball, football, and basketball.

The team was restarted in the fall of 1972 under the direction of Coach Norris Eastman with practices at Crenshaw Pool on the Westhampton side of campus.

[46] The men's water polo team was established by Coach Norris Eastman in the fall of 1971 and was downgraded to the club level in spring 1999.

[47] The history of the program dates to 1975, and the Spiders won or shared three conference titles and advanced to three NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship tournaments (1990, 1998, and 2002).

Notable alumni of the Spider program include Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko, defender Craig Ziadie, who was selected 28th overall by D.C. United in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft, and former Virginia Tech head coach Oliver Weiss.