[4] WLU's athletic teams, known as the West Liberty Hilltoppers, are charter members of the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference with nearly 400 student-athletes participating in 16 intercollegiate sports, including football, basketball, wrestling, track, acrobatics & tumbling and baseball.

Under the guidance of Reverend Nathan Shotwell, it was created to respond to the need for higher educational opportunities west of the Appalachian ridge.

Under Elbin's 35-year leadership, the college developed a full curriculum, faculty, staff, student services, and activities including music and theatre.

Academic disciplines in the college include visual communication design, digital media design, communications studies, journalism, public relations, broadcasting, creative arts therapy, music, theater, English, geography, history, political science, sociology, criminal justice, criminology, and social work.

WLTV-14 (The campus's community television station) airs on Comcast Cable in Brooke, Hancock, Ohio and Marshall Counties in West Virginia.

West Liberty University's Intercollegiate Athletics Program is an integral part of the institution's total educational mission.

The college is a member of NCAA Division II and formerly belonged to the 16-member West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC).

In June 2012, it was one of nine WVIAC members that announced plans to leave the conference after the 2012–13 school year to start a new Division II league.

From its beginning, the growth and development of the Alumni Association has been dedicated to promoting the interests of West Liberty University and strengthening the loyalty of and fostering support among its graduates, former students, and friends.

The association serves as the liaison between the alumni of West Liberty University and its administration, staff, faculty, students, and friends.

The West Liberty University Alumni Association Board of Directors instituted a project in 1990 to demonstrate to current students, visitors, and friends that the college has some very successful graduates.

The concept was suggested by then Associate Professor of Physics Robert W. Schramm, who is a 1958 graduate of the college and a 2002 Alumni Wall of Honor inductee.

The Alumni Wall of Honor was formerly housed in the south end of the Union known now as the Student Leadership Center and is currently located on the second floor of the Elbin Library.