Early in the history of Oakland University (OU), academic excellence was stressed at the expense of competitive intercollegiate athletics.

While the focus on academic excellence has continued and expanded, the university has also come to recognize the importance of intercollegiate athletics.

Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, OU competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) as the "Pioneers", becoming a perennial powerhouse in numerous sports and winning multiple National Championships in men's and women's swimming.

During the transition to NCAA Division I status in 1998–99, OU's sports teams became the "Golden Grizzlies".

[3] A member of the Horizon League, Oakland University sponsors teams in eight men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports.

[7] OU qualified for the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament for the first time in 2005.

The Golden Grizzlies defeated Alabama A&M University in the opening-round game at Dayton, Ohio, on March 15, 2005, before being eliminated three days later by the North Carolina Tar Heels, who went on to win the National Championship.

Utilizing a flexible zone defense and clutch shot-making from Jack Gohlke (10–20 on 3-pointers, 2nd-most in NCAAM history), the Golden Grizzlies upset UK despite a powerful performance from Antonio Reeves, 80–76, at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. Kampe, in his 40th season, earned an NCAA Tournament victory over a blueblood, and declared it his best.

The Golden Grizzlies lost in an overtime “boxing match” against DJ Burns Jr and the 11 seed NC State in the Second Round, with Townsend leading all players with 30 points and 13 rebounds.

Rawle Marshall, who led OU to its first NCAA tournament berth in 2005, became the first player from the university to make a National Basketball Association (NBA) roster, playing in 23 games for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2005–06 season and 40 games for the Indiana Pacers in the 2006–07 season.

In the 2011 NBA draft the Atlanta Hawks selected All-American and Lou Henson Award winner Keith Benson in the second round (48th pick) making Benson the first basketball player from Oakland to be drafted by an NBA team.

He was an assistant under Tom Izzo when Michigan State University won the 2000 NCAA title, and is now the head coach for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team.

On March 7, 2006, the women's basketball team defeated Western Illinois University to capture the 2006 Mid-Continent title.

In June 2013, former coach Beckie Francis was fired for intimidation and emotional abuse, because of her fixation on players weight and pushing her religious views upon the team.

Oakland's men's team has won five NCAA Division II national championships (1980, 1994–1997) and were runners-up 10 times (1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987–1991, 1993).

The Golden Grizzlies women's team won five consecutive NCAA Division II national championships from 1990 to 1994.

[19] The National Club Football Association is a 26 team league that uses the majority of NCAA rules.

The team moved up to ACHA Division 1 for the 2006–07 season and won the national championship over Penn State University by a score of 5–1.

In addition, the Grizzlies career scoring leader, Will McMahon, was named tournament and regular season MVP after tallying 47 goals and 29 assists in 36 games (including playoffs).

The team is currently coached by former Ferris State men's ice hockey player Nick Field, who led Oakland to a 12–15–3 record in his first season.