Oklahoma State participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Big 12 Conference.

The university's current athletic director is Chad Weiberg, who replaced the retiring Mike Holder on July 1, 2021.

A group of students saw famed cowboy Frank Eaton leading the Armistice Day parade.

The new mascot had become so popular that by 1924, Charles Saulsberry, sports editor of The Oklahoma Times, began calling A&M's teams the "Cowboys".

[5] In 1958, the "Pistol Pete" caricature was formally adopted as Oklahoma State's mascot, though it had been used unofficially for over three decades before then.

Under head coach Henry Iba, the team won back-to-back NCAA national championships in 1945 and 1946.

Oklahoma A&M center Bob Kurland was named the NCAA Tournament MVP during their two national championship seasons and became the first player to win the honor two times.

In 2005, Oklahoma State officials announced the OSU basketball court would be named after Sutton, which it is today.

Overall, the Cowboys have reached the NCAA baseball tournament 49 times and made 20 College World Series appearances, including seven straight trips to Omaha from 1981 to 1987.

13 individual conference champion runners have come from Oklahoma State, including Brian Musau in 2023 and 2024.

The Cowboys run at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course, and are led by 12-time Big 12 Men's Coach of the Year, Dave Smith.

The Cowgirls run at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course, and are led by 5-time Big 12 Women's Coach of the Year, Dave Smith.

The Cowgirl equestrian team has had major success in recent years, winning 10 conference titles (2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).

[10] The Aggies finished with a 9–0 record, completing the season with a 33–13 win over St. Mary's College in the Sugar Bowl.

Gundy coached the team to a record 12 win season in 2011, culminating with a Fiesta Bowl victory over Stanford, and ten years later led Oklahoma State to another 12 win season and Fiesta Bowl victory, this time over Notre Dame.

Oklahoma State plays football on Lewis Field, in Boone Pickens Stadium, and the Cowboys all-time record is 638–572–48.

Karsten Creek serves as the home course of the Oklahoma State University men's and women's golf teams.

[14] The Tom Fazio layout was named Golf Digest's "Best New Public Course" and served as the host site for the NCAA Men's Championship in 2003, 2011, and 2018.

[15] The Oklahoma State men's golf program is one of the most illustrious in the country, having won 11 NCAA national championships in 1963, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2006, and 2018.

In addition, 9 Oklahoma State golfers have won individual national championships, (Earl Moeller in 1953, Grier Jones in 1968, David Edwards in 1978, Scott Verplank in 1986, Brian Watts in 1987, E. J. Pfister in 1988, Charles Howell III in 2000, Jonathan Moore in 2006, and Matthew Wolff in 2019).

[21] The Cowgirls' goalkeeper for those runs, Adrianna Franch, recorded a program-record 36 shutouts and was the first Oklahoma State player to be called up to the United States women's national soccer team, where she was a member of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup championship-winning squad.

Oklahoma State's softball team has appeared in sixteen Women's College World Series, in 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982 (AIAW), 1982 (NCAA), 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

After having played their way through the 1982 regular season, a conference tournament, NCAA first round, winning an AIAW regional title, a loss in the AIAW WCWS final, the team's marathon season ended with 13-inning and 14-inning one-run losses in the NCAA tournament.

The Oklahoma State women's tennis program has won 29 total conference championships, including 7 Big 12 titles.

The Oklahoma State Men's Indoor Track and Field team has won the Big 12 conference title twice, in 2014 and 2016.

The Oklahoma State Women's Indoor Track and Field team won their first conference championship in 2023, scoring 146 points to win the Big 12 title.

The Oklahoma State Women's Outdoor Track and Field team has never won a conference title, however 3 Cowgirls have won individual NCAA titles, and Oklahoma State has been to 24 NCAA Women's Outdoor Championships, with their best result being a 12th place finish in 2016.

Oklahoma State wrestling's tradition started in 1916 when Edward C. Gallagher, whose name is part of Gallagher-Iba Arena, became head coach.

Due to World War II, Oklahoma State wrestling was forced off the mat for three years.