The Salem athletic teams are called the Tigers. The university is a member of the
Division II level of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing as an
NCAA D-II Independent for most of its sports since the 2016–17 academic year (which they were a member on a previous stint from 2010–11 to 2012–13); while being an associate member of the
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) for some of its sports. The Tigers previously competed as a member of the
Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) from 2013–14 to 2015–16; as well as a charter member of the defunct
West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) from 1924–25 to 2009–10. They have also competed as a dual affliate with the
United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) since the 2022–23 school year, thus winning national championships in men's basketball (2023), women's basketball (2024), and baseball (2025). Salem competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, soccer, swimming, tennis, wrestling, water polo; while women's sports basketball, soccer, softball, swimming, volleyball, tennis, and water polo.
Conference membership Salem competed as original members of the WVIAC beginning in 1924–25, and remained a member through 2009–10 (including through that conference's transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II in 1995-1996). The WVIAC folded shortly thereafter in 2013. The majority of the former WVIAC joined the
Mountain East Conference, which had its first season of competition in 2013. Salem is one of four West Virginia schools that joined the G-MAC in July 2013. The other three schools were former WVIAC colleagues of Salem that had been cast adrift in the breakup of the WVIAC. Salem left the G-MAC at the end of the 2015–16 season. According to an official statement issued by the G-MAC: “Salem International will be conducting a final year of (G-MAC) affiliation in 2015-2016. The institution has been exploring alternate Division II conference membership options beginning with the 2016–17 season.” As of the 2023–24 school year, Salem remains an
independent NCAA Division II institution with no conference affiliation in most sports, with the exception being men's and women's water polo that compete in the
Western Water Polo Association. However, Salem University and the Mountain East Conference reached a non-conference scheduling agreement for men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, baseball, and softball beginning in August 2023 in the wake of the sudden closure of then Mountain East member
Alderson Broaddus University. The agreement was renewed in the wake of another MEC member closure,
Notre Dame College in the spring of 2024. The agreement appears intact for the 2025-2026 year, but the future of the relationship has not been made public. ==Notable alumni==