The UAH men's basketball team began as a club team in 1968. In 1973, the program went from club to varsity and joined the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

In the first 11 varsity seasons under Kayo Willis, the Chargers compiled a 205-136 overall record. The Chargers won or shared five Southern States Conference titles, five SSC Tournament titles, four NAIA District 27 championships and berths in the NAIA national tournament. Willis was named SSC Coach of the Year three times.

Willis had very talented players in the mid-1970's. His son, Dean, remains one of the all-time scoring and assist leaders in UAH history. Tony Vann remains the Chargers' all-time leading scorer and rebounder.

In 1980-81, the Chargers had their best season. With the play of stars such as Ricky Knight, Kent Looney, Ben Mitchell, and James Mundie, UAH went 30-7 and earned a trip to Kansas City. There, they made it to the national final, but lost 86-85 to Bethany Nazarene College in overtime.

The program saw several changes through the mid-1980s. Ricky Knight became the second Charger coach for the 1984-85 season. He was followed by Jim Krause, who guided the team as it made the transition from NAIA to its first season in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II in 1986-87.

After one-year stints by Michael Scarano and Tony Ingle, Joe Baker took the reigns in 1989 and coached the team for five seasons. Star player Thomas Jones became the Chargers' second 2000-point scorer. Jones holds Charger career records for highest scoring average, most field goals attempted, most 3-point field goals attempted and made; single season records for most points, highest scoring average, most field goal attempts and most 3-point field goals attempts; and individual game records for most points in a game, most field goals made, most 3-point field goals made and most points in a half.

In 1993 the Chargers became a member of the Gulf South Conference, the largest and most prestigious NCAA Division II conference in the nation. Bill Peterson became UAH's seventh head coach a year later. His 13 wins his first season are the most ever by a first year Charger head coach.

In the spring of 1997, UAH hired Huntsvillian Lennie Acuff, who was an assistant coach at UAH under Tony Ingle in 1988-89 and Joe Baker in 1990-91. Under Acuff, the Chargers have made it to the NCAA playoffs three times (1999-00, 2002-03 and 2005-06). The Chargers also got their first postseason win, defeating Lemoyne Owen College in the first round of the 2000 South Region tournament. In 2003, the Chargers fell to Rollins College in the opening round of the South Regional. Rollins also knocked the Chargers out of the regionals in 2006.

Acuff has also led UAH to a GSC East regular season title and six appearances in the GSC tournament. In 2000-01, Acuff's Chargers earned a top ten ranking for the first time in school history. The Chargers made it as high as No. 8 in the country. In 2003 the Chargers made it all the way to the GSC tournament final before falling to Henderson State.

At the end of the 2004-05 season, Acuff led the Chargers back to the GSC tournament and was named GSC East Coach of the Year for the third time. In 2005-06, returned to the Top 25 poll, climbing as high as No. 13. The Chargers finished second in the GSC East and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament before losing to top-ranked Delta State. UAH earned the No. 3 seed in the South Region tournament, but was upset by Rollins in the first round.

The 2006-07 season found the Chargers back at the Gulf South Conference tournament. After advancing into the second round with a win over Delta State, the Chargers were knocked out by GSC West nemesis Henderson State, ending the season at 18-11.

The Chargers returned to the GSC tournament for the fourth straight season and eighth overall. Unfortunately, the visit was short as the Chargers fell to Arkansas Tech in the first round and ended the season at 13-15. Then, the Chargers returned to the GSC tournament in 2008-09, but suffered the same fate, falling in the first in a heartbreaker 46-45 to Delta State. UAH finished the season 17-11.