The Eagles compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

The Eagles have also won the Reese Trophy, given to the best overall men's athletic program in the MAC, five times, most recently in 2018.

On Oct. 31 of that year, a three-person committee, composed of Dr. Clyde Ford, Dr. Elmer Lyman and Professor Bert Peet, selected the name "Hurons" from the many entries in the contest.

On March 20, 2018, EMU announced the elimination of four sports: Wrestling, softball, men's swimming and diving, and women's tennis.

[6] Despite a court order to restart the softball team to satisfy a Title IX dispute, EMU stated a preference to add women's lacrosse, citing costs compared to softball as well as growing youth participation numbers for lacrosse.

The report claimed that the use of Native American names, logos or mascots for athletic teams promoted racial stereotypes.

The EMU Board of Regents voted to replace the Huron name with Eagles, taken from three recommendations from a committee charged with supplying a new nickname.

The Eagles name was officially adopted on May 22, 1991, when the EMU Board of Regents voted to replace the existing Huron nickname and logo with the new one.

During the 1991 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, announcer Jim Nantz talked about the controversy and referred to the team on-air as the "No-Names."

According to tradition, French sailors thought that the bristly hairstyle of Wendat warriors resembled that of a boar.

[9] But these negative etymological meanings conflict with the "bon Iroquois" attitude held by the French fur traders and explorers.

It was pronounced Hirri-ronon by the French, eventually shortened to Hirr-on, and finally spelled in its present form, Huron.

"[13] EMU Athletics oversees and uses several facilities on the EMU campus such as the George Gervin GameAbove Center, Bowen Field House, Eagle Crest Resort (Ypsilanti, Michigan), the Indoor Practice Facility (the bubble), Olds-Robb Rec/IM, Oestrike Stadium and Rynearson Stadium.

[18][19] Eastern Michigan University offers 17 NCAA Division I varsity sports, 6 for men and 11 for women.

[20] On June 19, 1976, after finishing in sixth place the year before, the baseball team was defeated by the University of Arizona in the final game of the College World Series at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.

(As of 2016, EMU remains the last northern school to make it to the NCAA baseball championship game.)

Eastern's men's basketball team has appeared in four NCAA Division I tournaments, and have a 3–4 record, tied for third best among Michigan colleges.

Eastern Michigan Eagles men's cross country is a varsity level sport.

[22] The football team played one home game a year at Ford Field in downtown Detroit from 2004 to 2007 in the "Collegiate Clash".

The MAC Champion Hurons defeated 17½ point favorite San Jose State in the California Bowl.

The victory culminated a 10–2 season and improbable rise from the depths of Division I-A college football.

The 1988 and 1989 teams each finished in second place in the conference and ended the most successful stretch of football in school history with its fourth straight winning season.

[31] Track and field collectively holds the record for most MAC titles out of all the EMU athletics teams.

The EMU Open is an annual event started in 1991 that hosts over 500 wrestlers and NCAA schools across all three divisions.

[38][39] In April 2018, Perry transferred to Old Dominion University with two years of eligibility remaining.

In the first 33 years of existence the Eagles played in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) before switching to the newly formed GLCHL at the start of the 2010–2011 season.

National championships (16)[5] National runners-up (6) Individual champions Men's Track and Field: Men's Cross Country: Women's track and field: EMU has 20 students and alumni who have competed in the Olympic Games.

The most recent being 2016 with Eric Alejandro The Eastern Michigan University Marching Band, nicknamed "The Pride of the Peninsula," was first formed in 1894.

The school song "Our Pledge" was written by Edward Bowles and was arranged for the marching band by Thomas Tyra.

The melody of "Eagles Fight Song" was written by Larry Livingston and arranged for marching band by Thomas Tyra.