A long-time member of the North Central Conference, UNO joined the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association on July 1, 2008 after the NCC ceased operations.

In the process it would abandon its football and wrestling programs to better fit with the sports sponsored by The Summit League and to maintain Title IX compliance.

[3] Football also had a long, successful history with multiple conference championships (1983–1984, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004–2007) and several NCAA Division II tournament appearances.

Former Maverick football players currently playing in the NFL include Zach Miller, Kenny Onatolu, and Greg Zuerlein.

The Omaha men's basketball team is led by head coach Chris Crutchfield, and also moved into Baxter Arena starting in 2015–16.

[7] Head coach Mike Denney and a number of his wrestlers later transferred to Maryville University to start a Division II team.

In The Native Peoples of North America: A History, the mascot is described as "so tacky by comparison that he made the Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo look like a real gentleman.