The Redhawks athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC)[2] and competes at the NCAA Division I[3] level including the Football Championship Subdivision.

After a movement by Student Government, the Booster Club and the National Alumni Council, those names were officially retired in a ceremony on October 22, 2004, and replaced with "Redhawks.

"[4] A member of the Ohio Valley Conference, Southeast Missouri State University sponsors six men's and nine women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports:[5] The Redhawks have won one team NCAA national championship, at the Division II level.

In the team's first appearance in "The Big Dance", the Redhawks were seeded #13 in the West Region and set to face off against Louisiana State University in the opening round of the tournament.

On March 4, 2023, the RedHawks held off Tennessee Tech 89-82 in OT where they won the OVC’s automatic bid to “The Big Dance”, going there for just the second time in program history.