[3][4] A member of the Horizon League, Detroit Mercy sponsors 17 NCAA varsity teams (seven men's, eight women's, and one co-ed NCAA-sanctioned sports).

[9] Former head coach Ray McCallum led Detroit Mercy to the Horizon League Championship during the 2011–12 season, granting the Titans an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Watson guided Detroit Mercy to 10 winning seasons, three league titles, two NCAA Tournament appearances and an NIT Final Four.

In his final year as a college head coach, "Dickie V" led the Titans to the Round of 16 in the 1977 NCAA tournament before losing 86–81 to Michigan.

On January 17, 2021, the parents of all 14 players on the roster sent a letter to athletic director Robert Vowels Jr. alleging NCAA rules violations, as well as rampant emotional and physical abuse, by Gilbert.

Gilbert's predecessor, Bernard Scott, led the Titans to 33 wins in his first two seasons, including a trip to the Horizon League championship game at Joe Louis Arena in 2016–17.

The Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team, coached by Matt Holtz, won the 2013 MAAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament, where they were downed in the fourth quarter by Notre Dame.

Several years later Parke H. Davis, considered to be a "major selector" by the NCAA, named the 1928 team to a share of the national championship[16] John Idzik was the head coach for the final three seasons of the football program, from 1962 until 1964.

In 2021, Detroit Mercy and Oakland University were scheduled to co-host the 2021 First and Second Round games at Little Caesars Arena, but the entire tournament was moved to Indianapolis due to COVID-19 concerns.