In 2012, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that NCAA athletes had allegedly been taking 10-day online courses from Western Oklahoma when they don't meet academic standards at their own institutions.

Western Oklahoma former president Phil Birdine defended the program, saying the school was "not a course mill.

Under coach Kurt Russell, WOSC has recently built a highly successful baseball program.

The team has made it to the national junior college Division II World Series in each of the last four seasons,[4] and in 2011 WOSC defeated Mississippi's Jones County Junior College to win the national championship.

[5] Notably, multiple alumni have gone on to play professionally in MLB, including Andrelton Simmons, Josh James, Juan Perez, Casey Sadler, and Angel Castro.