The Roanoke Maroons are the athletic teams that represent

Roanoke College Roanoke College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers ...

, located in

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combine ...

, a suburban

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

adjacent to

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

. Roanoke is an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division III member competing in the

Old Dominion Athletic Conference The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Of its 15 member schools, all but one are located in Virginia; the other ful ...

; the Maroons were a founding member of the conference in 1976. The college fields teams in 13 men's and 13 women's sports.

History

Roanoke athletics began in 1870 when the college fielded its first baseball team. In 1900, Roanoke helped serve as a founding member of the Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association, but quickly left the association. Roanoke later re-joined as a non-football member from 1915 to 1918. The men's basketball program, added in 1911, received national recognition in 1939 when the team finished third in the

National Invitational Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

, the premiere postseason tournament of that era; and with more than 1,300 wins (almost 2,000 games played; better than 60% winning percentage over more than 90 years) is among the most successful in the nation. The "Five Smart Boys" of the 1937 through 1939 seasons were Guard John Wagner; 'Bounding' Bob Lieb; Forwards Paul Rice; Gene Studebaker and Center Bob Sheffield. 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. Men's lacrosse and men's basketball are two of the school's most popular, and historically most successful sports at the college. 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 Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

. The team finished the season #3 in the national rankings. With the addition of men's volleyball, a sport not sponsored by the ODAC, Roanoke joined the

Continental Volleyball Conference The Continental Volleyball Conference is an intercollegiate men's volleyball conference associated with the NCAA's Division III. History On April 4, 2011, Gary Williams, Associate Athletic Director of Carthage College announced in Milwaukee the ...

: a Division III men's volleyball conference that two fellow ODAC members call home for their men's volleyball programs ( Eastern Mennonite and Randolph-Macon). In November of 2022, Scott Allison announced that he will retire at the end of the 2022-23 academic year. Coach Allison contributed 37 total years of service to the college serving as Head Men's Lacrosse Coach in the 1987 and 1988 seasons, the Head Women's Tennis Coach in the 1989 season and most notably as the Head Men's Soccer Coach from 1986-2012 and the school's director of athletics from 1993 until his retirement in 2023. In late May 2023, then

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

athletic director and industry veteran Curtis Campbell was named the next director of athletics at Roanoke College. As of May 2021, teams at Roanoke College have won 104 conference championships (48 in men's sports, 56 in women's sports) since the college joined the ODAC as a founding member in 1976. Currently, Roanoke owns more conference championships than any other school in the ODAC in men's lacrosse with 18 titles and women's basketball with 13 titles.

Varsity teams

Football

Roanoke's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

program was discontinued during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

after more than 60 years of competition.A Guide to Historical Salem Vol. 3 No. 3
/ref> Initially a club sport, the first varsity game occurred in 1892 against Allegheny Institute. The college's final game was played against

Catawba College Catawba College is a private college in Salisbury, North Carolina. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its c ...

on November 13, 1942, which resulted in a 42–0 loss. In 1985, the Salem city government constructed a 7,157-seat football stadium, Salem Stadium adjacent to Roanoke's Elizabeth Campus, two miles from the main campus, location of athletic fields and residence halls. Salem Stadium Constructed for the football team at nearby Salem High School where many hoped the college would revive its football program and that the team would play in the stadium, but the college declined. The stadium has hosted the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl game from 1993 to 2017. 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.

Rivalries

Roanoke College and

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

have been rivals for nearly 150 years. The rivalry is fueled by a long history of competition; the schools have competed against each other since the 1870s. The rivalry is also influenced by conference affiliation and geography; the schools are both charter members of the

and are located about 50 miles from each other along

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

. Both schools historically have had nationally ranked men's lacrosse teams and have been ranked in the top twenty when meeting late in the season. Women's lacrosse games with Washington and Lee also draw much interest as both schools have had very successful programs and have competed against each other in the ODAC Championship game on multiple occasions. In addition to Washington and Lee, rivalries with the

University of Lynchburg The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It has approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate ...

Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all-male college that is the tenth ...

, Randolph-Macon College, and Bridgewater College draw much interest among Roanoke fans; all of which are members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Roanoke and

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

were rivals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Virginia Tech was a small college. In 1877, the schools competed in Virginia Tech's first intercollegiate baseball game (Virginia Tech won 53–13), and in 1896, Virginia Tech first wore its current athletic colors – Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange – in a football game against Roanoke. In 1895, Roanoke and Virginia Tech were charter members of the now defunct Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association along with Randolph-Macon College, the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

, and the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...

, and in 1926, Roanoke and Virginia Tech played the inaugural football game at Virginia Tech's Miles Stadium.

School colors

Roanoke has two sets of

school colors School colors, also known as university colors or college colors, are the colors chosen by a school, academy, college, university or institute as part of its brand identity, used on building signage, web pages, branded apparel, and the uniforms ...

, blue and gold for academic use and maroon and gray for athletic use. This dates to 1907 when the baseball team needed new uniforms, but could not obtain any in blue and gold. Maroon and gray uniforms were purchased as a substitute. Within a few years, maroon and gray were adopted as Roanoke's official athletic colors. The college

athletic nickname The athletic nickname, or equivalently athletic moniker, of a Higher education in the United States, university or college within the United States and Canada is the name officially adopted by that institution for at least the members of its Spor ...

became Maroons as well. In recent years, black has been added as an accent color so Roanoke athletic uniforms are often maroon, gray, black, and white on some occasions.

Nickname and mascot

Roanoke's

is the Maroons and the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

is Rooney, a maroon-tailed hawk. The mascot was revealed on April 17, 2009, during the annual alumni weekend festivities. Roanoke has competed as the Maroons for over a century, but it was only a color without a mascot to represent the college.

Facilities

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 The Salem Civic Center is a 6,820-seat multi-purpose arena in Salem, Virginia. It was built in 1967 and is part of the James E. Taliaferro Sports and Entertainment Complex (named after a former mayor of Salem), which also includes Salem Football ...

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. In the 1980s, the school opened the 2,000-seat Bast Center located on-campus where the men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams played until 2016, when the state-of-the-art Cregger Center opened on-campus. 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 The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, Virginia, Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Car ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

affiliate of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. 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 The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...

on multiple occasions. Roanoke has qualified for this event several times with their most recent appearance being in 2012.

Home competition facilities

;Notes

Achievements

2011–12

On January 28, 2012, the men's basketball team defeated

Eastern Mennonite University Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) is a private Mennonite university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The university also operates a satellite campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which primarily caters to working adults. EMU is known for its Center f ...

to win the 1,300th game in program history. Roanoke is one of only 20 NCAA Division III schools with that many victories. With the win, Head Coach Page Moir achieved 375 victories; he is the winningest coach in ODAC history. Roanoke completed the 2011–12 academic year with two ODAC championships: women's outdoor track and field and softball. The softball championship was Roanoke's eighth in the sport, the most of any school in conference history at the time. Roanoke finished second in the conference in golf and women's lacrosse. The softball team defeated

Christopher Newport University Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1960 as Christopher Newport College, an extension school of the College of William and Mary for mid-career working professiona ...

to win the NCAA Division III Regional Championship in Newport News, Virginia and advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series. Roanoke ended the season ranked fourth in the nation after losses to

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

and

Linfield College Linfield University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with campuses in McMinnville, Oregon, McMinnville, and Portland, Oregon. Linfield Wildcats athletics participate in the Northwest ...

. Roanoke athletes won the top ODAC scholar-athlete of the year awards; golfer Brandon Ketron won the men's award, track athlete Sarah Witt won the women's award. Roanoke and

are the only schools to win both awards in the same year. In addition, 91 Roanoke student-athletes were named to the ODAC All-Academic team.

Shelley Olds Shelley Olds (born September 30, 1980) is an American former professional racing cyclist. Career Olds was born and raised in Groton, Massachusetts. She studied health and human performance at Roanoke College in Virginia, and was captain of thei ...

, a 2003 graduate of Roanoke College, finished seventh in the women's road race at the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, the best result for an American cyclist since 1992. 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.

2012–13

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.Roanoke College Athletics - Men's Soccer
/ref> Allison was named South Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year and Virginia College Division Coach of the Year; he continued to serve as Roanoke's director of athletics until his retirement in 2023. Roanoke won a total of four ODAC championships during the 2012–13 academic year: men's soccer, women's indoor track and field, women's outdoor track and field, and men's lacrosse. The men's soccer team advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament; the team was defeated by

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

. The men's lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament as well, defeating

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

before losing to Lynchburg College. The softball team advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament as an at-large seed; the team was defeated by

and

. Roanoke placed 111 student-athletes on the 2012–13 ODAC All-Academic team, the most in college history at the time.

National championships

The school also boasts two individual national championships: * 2001: Casey Smith won an individual national championship in the Division III women's 10,000m track and field event. * 2009: Robin Yerkes secured an individual national championship when she won the Division III women's 400m track and field event. Yerkes is the most decorated athlete ever to graduate from Roanoke, earning 12 All-American honors in multiple events. * 2025: Mark Samuel won the Division III Wrestling Championship.

Conference championships

NCAA tournament appearances

Includes appearances in the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

and Division III tournaments

Baseball

2017
South Regional

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside (Virginia), Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River ( ...

Division III World Series

Men's basketball

1968
Mideast Regional

Ashland, Ohio Ashland is a city in Ashland County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is approximately 66 miles southwest of Cleveland. The population was 19,225 at the 2020 census. It is the center of the Ashland Micropolitan statistical area, wh ...

1971
South Atlantic Regional

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

1972
South Atlantic Regional

Division II Men's Basketball Championship

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

1973
South Atlantic Regional

Division II Men's Basketball Championship

1974
South Atlantic Regional

1979
South Atlantic Regional

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...

1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1994 1996 2000 2001 2025

Women's basketball

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2010

Men's cross country

Appearances: 1958, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2014

Women's cross country

Appearances: 1993, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2011

Field hockey

2002

Men's golf

Appearances: 1972, 1977, 1978, 1979 1980, 1981

Women's indoor track & field

Appearances: 2001, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Men's lacrosse

1974 1976 1977 1978 1979 1981 1982 1983 1985 1986 1987 1988 1992 1996 1997 1998 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 2013 2015 2018 2022 2024

Women's lacrosse

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1997 2007 2009 2022 2023 2024

Women's outdoor track & field

Appearances: 1997, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Men's soccer

1993 2001 2002 2004 2007 2012 2019

Women's soccer

1998 2007 2011

Softball

1999
Regionals

Glassboro, New Jersey Glassboro is a Borough (New Jersey), borough within Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2 ...

2000
Regionals

Division III World Series

2001
Regionals

Division III World Series

2002
Regionals

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

2004
Regionals
New Concord, Ohio 2005
Regionals

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...

2006
Regionals

2012
Regionals

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

Division III World Series

2013
Regionals

2022
Regionals

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

2023
Regionals

2024
Regionals

References

External links

* {{Old Dominion Athletic Conference navbox