The intercollegiate athletics program at UNCG began in the late 1940s during the days of the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (WCUNC), with students participating in national golf tournaments in 1948 and the school hosting the national tournaments for women's golf (1954) and tennis (1965).

In preparation for the incporporation of male students, the school became The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1963.

Brian Moehler played at UNCG from 1991-1994 and was selected in the sixth round of the 1993 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

Moehler played 13 seasons of Major League Baseball and was inducted into the UNCG Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

Danny Valencia played third base at UNCG and was the 2004 SoCon Freshman of the Year, and was voted second-team All-Conference.

[2] On April 18, 2006, UNCG earned its first win over a top-ranked team in any sport during the university's Division I era.

Guard Scott Hartzell finished his career as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,539 points.

On March 4, 2001 UNCG won its first Men's Basketball SoCon Championship on David Schuck's buzzer-beating layup.

On December 31, 2005 UNCG hosted top-ranked Duke at the Greensboro Coliseum in front of a record crowd of 21,124.

On November 9, 2007 UNCG had their first win against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent when they beat Georgia Tech at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, 83-74.

In December 2005, UNCG's women's basketball program enjoyed two of its greatest non-conference wins since moving to the Division I level.

On November 20, 2022 UNCG hosted Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and won in penalty kicks, 6-5.

On November 27, 2022 UNCG played No.5 Stanford in the third round of the NCAA Tournament and won in penalty kicks, 3-1.

After the season, UNCG Midfielder and 2022 SoCon Player of the Year J.C. Ngando was picked fifth overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft and signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.