The team in its current form was created in 1970 after the federation of Western Reserve University and Case Institute of Technology.

In 1892, Western Reserve declined Clevelander John Heisman's offer to be their head coach, and then ironically faced him and his Oberlin Yeomen during the season opener, getting destroyed 38–8.

[2] Western Reserve would have their revenge two years later in 1894, finally defeating Heisman while at home in Cleveland, ending the season with a 7–0 undefeated record.

[3] When the Ohio Athletic Conference was formed in 1902, Case dominated the early years winning its first four titles (1902–1905), posting a combined 18–1–1 league record, led by Chester Orr[5] and Peggy Parratt, a quarterback who would later throw the first forward pass in professional football history.

Ohio State University's only death of a player from game-related injuries, team captain John Sigrist, occurred against Western Reserve in 1901.

[8] Although the home team could not play spoiler in his debut, Case lays claim to scoring the first touchdown against Rockne.

[10] Cleveland had its own Big Four Conference, which was formed in 1933 consisting of Baldwin-Wallace, Case Tech, John Carroll, and Western Reserve.

Some of the highest attended games in school history occurred during this decade, needing to be played at Cleveland Municipal Stadium and League Park to handle the larger crowds.

After a short hiatus during World War II, football resumed in 1946 where Western Reserve pushed hard to elevate the program to the national stage scheduling teams such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Rutgers, West Virginia, Marshall, Kent State, Miami of Ohio, Ohio University, Western Michigan, Colgate, Brown, and Duquesne.

In 1946, Western Reserve became a charter member with the formation of the Mid-American Conference, in conjunction with Ohio University, Butler, Cincinnati, and Wayne State.

Ohio's first ever intercollegiate TV football game aired on October 23, 1948, where Western Reserve battled Kent State to a 14–14 tie.

[16] In 1954, Western Reserve withdrew from the MAC, citing the need for the school to focus more energy on academics and the high cost of running a big time program spearheaded by President John S.

During the league's first year in 1984, the Spartans achieved a 9–0 undefeated season, winning the first conference title led by two-time All-American quarterback Fred DiSanto.

In 2017, he recorded another perfect 10–0 regular season, sharing the PAC conference title with Washington and Jefferson, also earning another playoff victory.

[20] Western Reserve originally used the mascot Pioneers from 1921 to 1927, until being forced to change by Marietta College, who claimed earlier usage of the namesake.

Four other future NFL players played in the game for Western Reserve, Dom "Mickey" Sanzotta, Stan Skoczen, Dick Booth, and Andy Logan.