[4] The university offers forty-five majors in the fields of fine arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, education, business, and religion, and nine pre-professional programs, including nursing, dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary, and law.

After working with the city of Abilene to acquire the needed land, the charter of the school was ratified on November 21, 1921.

Other schools, such as Florida State University, made successful appeals by garnering the endorsement of Indian tribes.

The war hawk is meant to represent pride, courage and fierce competition for McMurry's athletic teams.

For the men, McMurry competes in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, esports, and indoor and outdoor track and field.

For the women, McMurry competes in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, esports, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball, in which they won the NCCAA national championship in 2012, and softball.

In July 2011, McMurry announced that it had been accepted as a candidate for NCAA Division II membership and joined the Heartland Conference in the fall of 2012.

[14] McMurry University announced October 19, 2016, that the sport of softball would be added to its women's intercollegiate programs, beginning in 2018.

Softball sponsorship in the ASC would grow to 13 teams and becomes the seventh conference championship sport to be supported at every member institution.

[16] McMurry played its first game at Walt Driggers Field on February 12, 1997, with a 7–3 win against Wayland Baptist Pioneers.