During the 1980s, Coach Paul Sanderford built Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball into a national power, appearing in 3 NCAA Final Fours.

In recent years, the Lady Toppers have had a continued record of success; under head coach Michelle Clark-Heard, the Lady Toppers won the Conference USA title in 2015, advancing to the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship tournament in 2014 and 2015, and receiving invitations to the Women's National Invitation Tournament in 2013 and 2016.

[6] In 2008, the Hilltoppers were among the Division I-A Independents, along with the Army Black Knights, Navy Midshipmen and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

In 2015, the Hilltoppers clinched the Conference USA championship, won the Miami Beach Bowl and finished ranked 24th in the final Associated Press college football poll.

[10][11] Under Marchionda, Claire Donahue, who won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics,[10][11] competed for the university's swim team.

This followed a police investigation into claims of assault and hazing by a former men's team member which in turn found multiple violations of university policies on harassment and sexual misconduct.

[21] On June 26 2018, three years after the men's and women's swimming and diving teams had been suspended, the school canceled all funding for those programs, and in the spring of 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic stalled any efforts that might have been made to resume them.