After the campus on Ward Island (which is actually a peninsula separated from the mainland by wetlands) was severely damaged by Hurricane Celia in 1970, the school (which had financial problems since the outset) could not afford to rebuild and requested the Texas Legislature for assistance.

The Legislature approved opening a branch of the Texas A&M University System the following year; UCC held its final graduating class in 1973, and BGCT sold the campus to the state shortly thereafter, retaining 10 acres to maintain a student religious center.

Other centers on campus conduct research on biodiversity through offshore scientific diving expeditions,[22] and aid in oil spill response, hurricane tracking, and commercial shipping.

Autonomy Research Institute (ARI) is one of the seven unmanned aircraft system test sites in the US, designated by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2014.

[23] ARI specializes in research, development, and testing of autonomous systems across air, land, water, and eventually space.

[33] Greek Life is a growing aspect of the TAMU-CC campus gaining notoriety and size over the years since it began at the university in 1998.

[35] As part of 400 OFR in the U.S., Islander Dining Hall is working to lower an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic entering the world's marine ecosystems.

[35] Elizabeth Alford, Marketing Manager for the Islander Dining Hall, said of the designation:"With the university surrounded by Oso Bay and Corpus Christi Bay, it is important that we take the initiative to reduce the amount of plastic and Styrofoam waste that could potentially come from Islander Dining Hall.

The university is a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southland Conference since the 2006–07 academic year.

TAMUCC competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, tennis, and track & field (indoor and outdoor); women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, and field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Their mascot is "Izzy the Islander", a blue figure designed to represent the "coastal lifestyle" of Corpus Christi.

He was redesigned in 2022, previously depicting a costumed man with a tiki mask headdress, grass skirt, and spear.