Football Roanoke's
football program was discontinued during
World War II after more than 60 years of competition. Initially a club sport, the first
varsity game occurred in 1892 against Allegheny Institute. 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.
Rivalries Roanoke College and
Washington and Lee University 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
Old Dominion Athletic Conference and are located about 50 miles from each other along
Interstate 81. 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,
Hampden-Sydney College,
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 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, and the
College of William and Mary, 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, 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 became Maroons as well. In recent years, black and white have been added as accent colors so Roanoke athletic uniforms are often maroon, gray, black, and white.
Nickname and mascot Roanoke's
athletic nickname is the Maroons and the
mascot 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==