Grambling's sports teams participate in Division I (I-FCS for football) as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

The Grambling State Tigers won the NAIA National championship tournament in 1961, beating Georgetown College (Ky.).

Grambling State's most popular and highest attended regular season basketball rivalries are against the Southern Jaguars and Prairie View A&M Panthers.

[3] During Robinson's 55-year coaching career, the university gained a national reputation because of the large number of athletes who joined the professional ranks in football.

After Robinson's retirement in 1997, former GSU standout and NFL Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams took over the reins of the university's football program.