[1] The GVSU Lakers compete at the NCAA Division II level and are members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

Grand Valley is the first college east of the Mississippi River to win the Directors' Cup for NCAA Division II.

GVSU currently fields 21 varsity teams,[5] with a 22nd coming in 2024 in the following sports: The Lakers have a moderately successful baseball program, frequenting appearances in the Division II tournament.

In 2004, the Lakers made it all the way to the Division II national championship, eventually losing to Delta State.

The GVSU men's 2005–2006 basketball team had their outstanding season cut short when they were upset early in the NCAA D2 Regional Playoffs.

The GVSU women's basketball team won their first NCAA Division II National Championship in the 2005–2006 season with a 58–52 win over American International College.

Grand Valley State went to their first national title game in 2001, losing to the University of North Dakota.

The team added a third national championship in 2005, finishing the season 13–0 and tying the NCAA record for most wins over a four-year period with 51.

On December 8, 2007, the streak was broken by their post season rival Northwest Missouri State University with a 34–16 loss.

[6] The varsity men's & women's track & cross country teams have dominated Division II since the hiring of Jerry Baltes as their head coach in 1999.

[7] Coach Baltes teams have been so dominant, the USTFCCCA named the Women's NCAA Division II Program of the Year Award, awarded to the program that finishes with the best combined finish at the Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track NCAA Division II Championships within a school year.

The women's volleyball team won its first Division II National Championship in 2005 against host school University of Nebraska-Kearney in front of an NCAA D2 record crowd of 5,025 fans.

In 2006–2007, GVSU added an ACHA Division III team which competes in the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC).

Grand Valley used to be a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Hockey Association and was the GLIHA Tournament Champions in 2003 and placed second in 2005.

Founded in 1964 by Coach Charles Irwin, rowing was the first varsity sport at Grand Valley State University.

In the fall it competes in Boston at the Head of the Charles Regatta, regularly earning medals in the Men's and Women's Collegiate 8+s, as well as occasionally fielding an alumni entry.

The top men's and women's Varsity Eight were competitors at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta in England in 2004 and 2008.

In 2008 after a coaching change and structuring the program to run like a varsity program (although competing at a club level) the GVSU Men's Lacrosse team won the CCLA conference title and earned their first bid to play in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) national championship tournament featuring teams from throughout the US and Canada.

The Lakers ended their season in the CCLA Division 2 semi-final losing to national runners up University of Dayton.

In 2011 The Lakers jumped out to impressive early season victories and earned a top national ranking for a three-month period.

The 2011 season featured a 19–1 record, 5 MCLA All-Americans, 6 CCLA All-Conference players, and over 400 goals scored throughout the year (higher than any NCAA/MCLA program, at any division).

Since 2008 the Lakers feature a 64–11 record, have had 13 players receive All-American mentions, have yet to finish outside the national top-ten rankings, and have not lost a home contest since 2009.

GVSU has a club water polo team which consistently competes for conference and national championships.