Oakland University Athletics collection

When Oakland University was founded it was agreed that the focus would be on academic excellence, and there would be no "distractions" like Greek life or intercollegiate athletics. When Oakland University opened in 1959 it only offered recreational activities such as archery, bowling, casting, golf, and marksmanship. A ski slope and tow were set up two years later. It was not until Spring 1964 that then Chancellor Woody Varner authorized intercollegiate athletics. Hollie Lepley, the first Director, built the programs from scratch. During the first year students could choose from cross country, soccer, men’s and women’s swimming, indoor track, golf, tennis and track. In 1967 men’s basketball was added, and baseball the following year, followed by many others. The first intramural building opened in 1963 and was named after Hollie Lepley. It has since become part of the OU Recreation and Athletics Center.

In 1973-1974 OU joined the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. OU made the transition to NCAA Division I in 1997-98 and joined the Horizon League on July 1, 2013, winning a pair of swimming and diving titles.