Tarleton State University athletics currently competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Western Athletic Conference. They were admitted into the WAC on July 1, 2020, therefore ending their 26 year stint at the Division II level with the Lone Star Conference. Their admission into the conference in 1995 marks their second period of membership, having previously participated from 1968 to 1975. They were a founding member of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) in 1976 and remained in that league until 1990. From 1991 to 1994 Tarleton played as an Independent.