On June 29, 2016, it was announced that the Milwaukee Bucks were seeking to purchase an expansion team in the then-NBA Development League, listing their five finalist cities as Grand Chute (near Appleton), La Crosse, Oshkosh, Racine and Sheboygan.

On August 3, it was announced that Grand Chute and La Crosse had been eliminated, with Oshkosh, Racine and Sheboygan as the three finalists.

[4] On December 19, Oshkosh city officials identified the former site of the Buckstaff Furniture Company as the site for their arena proposal for the team, with the Fox Valley Pro Basketball group submitting a bid to the city's planning commission on January 11.

[9][10] On July 1, 2017, Dave Dean was named the team's general manager[11] and the coaching staff was announced on September 22.

The Herd was then one of 11 teams that opted out of participating in the single-site 2020–21 season where all league games were played at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida.