The university is a member of the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the South Atlantic Conference since the 1998–99 academic year.

[12] Also added for 2019–20 was men's volleyball, in which the NCAA holds a combined Division I/II national championship; the Pioneers compete in that sport as an independent.

[13] Tusculum also added the non-NCAA sport of men's bowling in 2019–20,[13] and also recognizes its cheerleaders (both male and female) as varsity athletes.

[14] In 2007, former Tusculum College basketball player, Tyler White, became a member of the Washington Generals, the exhibition team that travels with and plays against the Harlem Globetrotters.

[15] On September 4, 2014, the Tusculum football team hosted the College of Faith, an online institution in Charlotte, North Carolina.