The history of athletics at Syracuse University began in an unofficial capacity within a few years of the University’s founding, despite discouragement from the University's administration, who believed that organized teams and sporting events would distract students from their studies and lead to injuries and immorality. In 1872, male students organized the University's first Student Athletics Association to promote and administer a college baseball team, which played its first intercollegiate game against Hamilton College the following year. Women's athletics began at the University the same year, with the formation of a croquet club. The number of campus sports teams expanded over the next two decades as the University administration’s stance on student athletics became increasingly tolerant. Despite this, Syracuse University lacked any indoor athletics facilities, and athletic training primarily took place outdoors, either on campus fields or in local parks. In 1885, some student athletes established an unsanctioned gymnasium in a disused campus toolshed, but this rudimentary training facility was destroyed by a fire set by a group of students the following year, perhaps to motivate the University to build a gym. The school’s first gymnasium (later known as the Old Gym or Women’s Gymnasium) was constructed in 1892. The construction marked a turning point for athletics at Syracuse University, shifting them from a primarily student-led endeavor to one endorsed and supported by the University.

In 1893, the University formed the General Athletic Committee to administer the men's sports programs, ushering in a period of significant expansion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this time, women’s sports became more prominent on campus, and in 1904 the Syracuse University Women’s Athletics Association was formed. Despite the long history of women's athletics at the University, women's sports teams did not play at the intercollegiate level until 1971, and the men's and women's athletics departments operated as separate entities until 1982. In 1906, the University became a charter member of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, a regulatory body for intercollegiate sports that later became the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In 1907, Archbold Stadium was constructed. At the time of its opening, it was the largest concrete stadium in the United States and remained the home of the Syracuse Orange football team until 1978, when it was demolished to make way for the Carrier Dome (now JMA Wireless Dome). During the 20th century Syracuse University became a powerful force in intercollegiate athletics. The University was named a Division I school in 1973 when the NCAA division system was first implemented.

Notable accomplishments of Syracuse University Athletics include a 1959 football national championship win, undefeated football seasons in 1959 and 1987, more than 40 All-American football players, a 2003 NCAA men’s basketball national championship win, and a total of ten NCAA men’s lacrosse national championship wins between 1983 and 2009. As of 2026, Syracuse University Athletics encompasses 12 different sports at the Division I level, as well as more than 40 club teams and over 400 intramural teams.