The Chicago State Cougars are the varsity athletic teams representing Chicago State University of Chicago, Illinois in intercollegiate athletics. The university currently sponsors 15 varsity teams. The Cougars compete in NCAA Division I as an independent. They were previously members of the Western Athletic Conference from 2013 to 2022.
History
Melvin Bland was the first CSU student athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Tyrone Everhart also was a NAIA Honorable Mention All-American wrestler the same year. Fred Evans as a sophomore became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. The Chicago State University Ice Hockey Team produced 2 NCAA Division 2 All-Americans in the 1975–76 season. George Hansen and Bob Janecyk were selected in 1975–76 to the NCAA (College Division) West All-American Team. Janecyk was selected two more times designated as an NCAA (College Division) West All-American Team goaltender for CSU in 1976–77 and 1977–78. He went on to play for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. The first NAIA District #20 Championship Team in any sport was the 1975 wrestling team, which captured the NAIA District #20 Championship coached by Dr. James G. Pappas. The Cougar Wrestling Team also won District #20 titles in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980.
In 1984, the CSU Men's Basketball Team captured third place at the NAIA National Championships. The team's performance throughout the tournament was as follows:
Chicago State (Ill.) 79, Franklin Pierce (N.H.) 62
Chicago State 105, Kearney State (Neb.) 104 2OT
Chicago State 68, Chaminade (Hawaii) 66 (Quarterfinals) Fort Hays State (Kan.) 86, Chicago State 84 OT (Semifinals) Chicago State 86, Westmont (Calif.) 82 OT (3rd)
Chicago State joined the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2013 as part of a six-university expansion. Along with the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC), it was to have anchored the circuit's Midwest division. UMKC left the conference in 2020 and Chicago State announced on January 14, 2021 that it would do likewise on June 30, 2022.
Conference affiliations
1966–67 to 1976–77 – NAIA Independent
1977–78 to 1980–81 – Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
1981–82 to 1983–84 – NAIA Independent
1984–85 to 1992–93 – NCAA Division I Independent
1993–94 – East Coast Conference
1994–95 to 2005–06 – Mid-Continent Conference
2006–07 to 2008–09 – NCAA Division I Independent
2009–10 to 2012–13 – Great West Conference
2013–14 to 2021–22 – Western Athletic Conference
2022–23 to present – NCAA Division I Independent
Sports sponsored
With the school's current financial situation and the needs of the athletic program, in April 2016, the University Budget Committee recommended that the Athletic Department "... study the benefits of being Division 1 or another division." Chicago State University currently sponsors teams in seven men's and eight women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports.