Early men's athletic events, in basketball and baseball, were played against local high school, church, and company teams.

Joe Kotys, fresh off an appearance in the 1948 Summer Olympics, was dominant for the Golden Flashes in NCAA competition during this period accruing six individual men's gymnastics championships between 1949 and 1951.

Kent State also has had high national finishes from the men's indoor and outdoor track and field teams, women's gymnastics, and wrestling.

A number of Golden Flashes alumni have gone on to play and coach in both college and major professional sports, such as Jack Lambert, Antonio Gates, Nick Saban, Lou Holtz, Thurmon Munson, and Emmanuel Burriss.

Athletics at Kent State began shortly after the school was first organized in 1910 and the first classes held in 1912.

The first use of "Golden Flashes" occurred in 1927 after it was approved by the student body and faculty athletic committee.

The team has enjoyed significant success both in the Mid-American Conference and on the national level and has sent several players to the major leagues over the years.

[9] In 2012, the team made its first appearances in both the Super Regional round of the NCAA baseball tournament and the College World Series.

[10] The men's basketball team, which began play in 1913 and intercollegiate competition in 1914,[4] plays in the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center and is Kent State's oldest sport and second-oldest intercollegiate team.

The Flashes amassed thirty victories in the 2001–02 season which culminated in a berth in the NCAA Elite Eight.

In the tournament they defeated seventh-seeded Oklahoma State, second-seeded Alabama, and third-seeded Pitt.

One of the stars on this team, power forward Antonio Gates, went on to become a superstar tight end with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers.

Kent State has appeared in 12 MAC Tournament championship games, including seven in a row from 1996 through 2002.

[17] In 2001, Kent State hosted the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship at Dix Stadium, where they played their home games from 1997 through 2004.

Home games are played at Dix Stadium on the far eastern edge of the Kent State campus.

Don James coached the team from 1971–1974 during the era which also saw future NFL great Jack Lambert and current Alabama head coach Nick Saban playing for the Golden Flashes and Kent State's only Mid-American Conference championship in 1972.

Some of the NFL players who played football at Kent State include Dri Archer, Joshua Cribbs, Julian Edelman, and James Harrison.

The men's golf team has had success both in the Mid-American Conference and at the national level, winning 28 MAC titles and making 36 appearances in the NCAA tournament, including 23 trips to the championship round and three regional championships, as of 2022.

[19] They practice at Windmill Lakes Golf Club in nearby Ravenna, where they occasionally host matches.

The program has produced several pro-golfers and in 2003, former Golden Flashes standout Ben Curtis won the British Open in what ABC commentator Mike Tirico called "one of the most amazing stories in the history of the Open Championship" and the "all-time Cinderella story.

[32] * the Ohio state championship was held prior to the Mid-American Conference adding gymnastics as a sport.

[35] The softball team plays its home games at the Judith K. Devine Diamond, adjacent to Dix Stadium.

In 1990, the team went 43–9 en route to their first MAC title, an NCAA regional championship, and a berth in the Women's College World Series.

[38] It has historically been one of the school's most successful teams, winning multiple conference titles and making a series of appearances in the NCAA tournament, finishing as high as 5th nationally in both 1941 and 1942.

The rivalry in men's basketball is an even closer series with Kent State leading the Zips 83–81 through the 2022–23 season.

In 2011, the two schools created the Wagon Wheel Challenge, which counts all athletic contests in the 14 sports where they compete head-to-head.

In sports with multiple meetings per season, whichever team wins the most games takes the full point.

The two are sister schools, created together by the Lowry Bill in 1910, and both have been members of the Mid-American Conference since Bowling Green joined in 1952, the season after Kent State.

Kent State and Youngstown State play regularly in men's and women's basketball, baseball, and softball, and have played periodically in football, where YSU competes in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

In 1971 through 1974, under head coach Don James, a western-themed horse and rider were present at all Dix Stadium games.