The Yellow Jackets compete as members of the Mountain East Conference for all ten varsity sports.

The school then moved to the formerly all-white West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which competed in the NCAA's Division II.

After the dissolution of the WVIAC, WVSU joined the new Mountain East Conference in 2013, which is part of Division II.

Anderson came to WVSU after serving on the coaching staff of NAIA football powerhouse the University of Sioux Falls (USF).

During Anderson's time on the coaching staff at USF, the school won three NAIA national championships.