IUP's athletic department sponsors 19 varsity sports, including eight for men and 11 for women. There are also club sports teams such as ice hockey and rugby. The Crimson Hawks, formerly known as the Indians, compete in the
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) of
NCAA Division II. IUP annually produces teams and individuals that compete for championships on the conference, regional and national levels. The 2004–05 school year saw 12 sports either send their teams or individuals to NCAA postseason competition. The IUP football team has been to the NCAA Division II national title game twice (1990 and 1993). In both cases, IUP came up short, finishing the season as runner-up. While Division II teams rarely appear on television, IUP has appeared on regional telecasts in 1968 at the
Boardwalk Bowl and 2006 against California University of PA. The team has also been on national TV while playing in those Division II national title games from 1990 and 1993. On November 2, 2006, a game against
Slippery Rock was nationally televised on the TV channel,
CSTV. Additionally, on September 15, 2011, a game against
Bloomsburg was nationally televised on the TV channel
CBS Sports Network as the NCAA Division II game of the week. The IUP men's basketball team likewise lost the
NCAA Division II national title game twice in 2010 and 2015. The IUP rugby team finished 3rd in the Division I national championship in 2000, finishing behind
California and
Wyoming and ahead of fourth-place
Army. The IUP Men's ice hockey (
ACHA Division 1) team won the
CHMA season championship in 2018–2019, the CHMA playoff in 2019-2020 awarded a bid to the ACHA National Tournament as the 19th seed, but the tournament was canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2022–2023 season, IUP Men's Ice Hockey won the CHMA season and playoff championship and awarded a bid to the ACHA National Tournament as the 18th seed. Team captain Dominick Glavach was awarded the 2023 CHMA playoff MVP award The IUP men's
lacrosse team were the 2018 and 2019 Three Rivers Conference Champions and were ranked 13th in the nation in Division II for the 2020 season. ==People==