[1] Frankie Allen, arguably the greatest men's basketball player in Virginia college sports (2,780 points and 1,758 rebounds), graduated from Roanoke in 1971.

However, a number of other teams have made significant NCAA tournament runs and claimed ODAC titles in recent years.

Most notably, the school's baseball team in 2017, who entered the ODAC Tournament as the conference's 6th seed, went on a run to win the title before sweeping the South Region and making an appearance in the Division III College World Series in Appleton, Wisconsin.

[9] In the spring of 2023, Roanoke College raised $1.3 Million to reinstate football which returned as a club team during the 2024 season and will obtain varsity status in 2025.

In addition to reinstating football, Roanoke will add varsity cheerleading to its athletic department and a marching band program.

[11][13] Roanoke has two sets of school colors, blue and gold for academic use and maroon and gray for athletic use.

After beginning their history in the tiny, on-campus Alumni Gymnasium, the men's and women's basketball teams began playing their home games in the 6,820-seat Salem Civic Center arena in 1968.

While the team had a great deal of success there and won the program's only national title while calling the Salem Civic Center home, its large size and off-campus location hindered it.

The new arena seats 2,500 spectators and sits on a hill with magnificent views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The baseball team formerly played at Kiwanis Field near Elizabeth Campus, but now plays at Haley Toyota Field, home stadium of the Salem Red Sox, Carolina League affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.

The softball team plays at the nearby James I. Moyer Sports Complex, which notably has hosted the NCAA Division III Women's College World Series on multiple occasions.

[18] Roanoke completed the 2011–12 academic year with two ODAC championships: women's outdoor track and field and softball.

Roanoke ended the season ranked fourth in the nation after losses to Montclair State University and Linfield College.

[25] Shelley Olds, a 2003 graduate of Roanoke College, finished seventh in the women's road race at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the best result for an American cyclist since 1992.

[26] Olds served as captain of the women's soccer team at Roanoke; she is a three-time national champion in two cycling disciplines, road and track.

2012–2013 Scott Allison retired as the head men's soccer coach in 2012 after 27 seasons at the helm of the program; in his final season, the Maroons won the ODAC championship and advanced to the opening round of the NCAA Division III tournament.