[4] Wheeling University competes in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Mountain East Conference.

Richard Whelan, bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling, lobbied the Society of Jesus in the 19th century to establish a university in the growing city.

After a donor, Sara Tracy, left her estate to the diocese, it purchased land for a Jesuit college from Mt.

[5] Wheeling College was founded through a partnership of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston with the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus.

[6] Overcoming the difficulties of temporary facilities and a faculty of twelve Jesuit priests and four lay professors, the school grew considerably.

[7] In 2012, university leadership was accused by the federal government of misappropriating NASA grant money received for sponsored programs.

In 2019, the school eliminated majors in history, theology, philosophy, literature, and engineering and cut 20 of the university's full-time faculty members.

[16] Two months later, Monsignor Kevin Quirk resigned from his position as chair of the university's board of trustees after The Washington Post published details from a confidential report alleging that one of his former colleagues was guilty of sexual abuse and financial impropriety.

Focused on advocacy, culture, education, research and service through the mode of immersion, as matters of social justice, the Appalachian Institute grounds its mission as a responsible and sustainable partner for the university and the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston invigorating the Catholic social mission as an available instrument of Catholic social teaching, and as a positive force for growing sustainable relationships with community partners locally, nationwide & internationally.

In 2010, the university hosted the Ignatian Solidarity Network Spring Teach-In, which focused on issues of environmental sustainability and stewardship.

The adjacent former girls' academy, Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy ceased operations in August 2010 and the Sisters of the Visitation, who ran the school since its inception, moved to the monastery at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C.[46] Wishing to see the Mount's legacy continued, the sisters gifted a large sum of money to establish and fund a Conservatory of Music at the university.

[47] Thus the Mount de Chantal Conservatory of Music came to be in the lower floor of the university's CET building.

The Conservatory features a recital hall, practice rooms, a parlor for students and visitors, and a gallery displaying art, antiques and archival materials from Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy.

The Cardinals previously competed in the defunct West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) from 1957–58 to 2012–13.

The university's home indoor athletic events for volleyball and basketball are held in WU's McDonough Center.

[50] WU's football, soccer, and women's lacrosse teams play on the turfed Bishop Schmitt Field.

[55] Each spring Wheeling's International Student club sponsors a festival celebrating the cultural diversity of WU.

The activities included samples of ethnic food as well as music and demonstrations from students' native countries.

The events include a concert, a formal dance, a carnival held outside of Donahue Hall, and a raft race down Wheeling Creek.

Contestants sing before a live audience and a panel of judges, and are eliminated in a series of themed rounds.