Glenville State University was founded in 1872 as a branch of West Virginia Normal School.

The Glenville State College Alumni Center, known as the John E. Arbuckle House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

They have teams in football, basketball, track and field, softball, golf, baseball, cross country running, acrobatics & tumbling, and volleyball.

The women's basketball team won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2022.

The team previously competed in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which disbanded following the 2012–13 season.