Fordham Crew was established in 1915 by John J. Mulcahy, a graduate from Fordham in 1894 and the winner of both a silver and gold medal in the 1904 Olympics. With his vast international experience, Mulcahy immediately set lofty goals for his Fordham teams. A daunting figure perched in the stern of Fordham's first eight; he was forced to coach his small team from the coxswain's seat. Now, more than 90 years later, his vision of Fordham Crew has inspired a vibrant tradition of competitive rowing at all intercollegiate levels.

In the 1950s, the team evolved into a surprisingly strong contender under the tutelage of coach John J. Sulger, a former president of U.S. Rowing and member of the New York Athletic Club Hall of Fame. After training on the Harlem River, the team raced impressively in the Dad Vail Regatta. In 1958, the men's varsity eight and the men's freshman eight both won silver medals and the team firmly established itself as one of the best non-EARC (Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges) schools in the country.

Since then, the men's team has raced successfully in regattas throughout the country and around the world. In the last 15 years, the team has traveled to the Henley Royal Regatta four times. They also hold the distinction of being the only U.S. college crew to win the Championship Eight at the Galway Regatta in Ireland. On the home front, they have posted impressive wins at: Dad Vail, ECAC National Championship Regatta, IRA, and San Diego Crew Classic.

The women's team was founded at Fordham in 1975. After a boathouse fire destroyed all the team’s equipment and facilities in 1978, the club faced difficult times. Winning Dad Vail bronze medals in 1985, 1992 and 1993 signaled the resurgence of the women, and in 1994 the women's lightweight four won the school's first Division I national collegiate team championship in any sport, with an inspiring win in Cincinnati.

In 1997, the university elevated the women's team to a varsity sport. Since then, their record has been the best of any women's varsity sport at Fordham. The 1997 varsity four went undefeated, won the school's first varsity Atlantic 10 championship, won the Dad Vail and advanced to the semi-finals in their first trip to Women's Henley. In 1998 and 1999, the entire team placed an impressive third overall in the team standings at the Atlantic 10 Championships, and repeated as champions in the varsity four event. This varsity four went on to repeat convincingly as gold medalists at the Dad Vail both years. In a return trip to women’s Henley in 1999, Fordham again advanced to the semi-finals and final four of 30 international college teams.

In recent years, Fordham has remained a strong contender for gold medals at the Dad Vail. In 2000, the championship eight missed a gold medal in a photo finish and the 2001 women were less than one half length behind the winners.  Since then, the women have been consistent finalists at the Dad Vail Regatta in both the varsity and junior varsity eights.

Fordham was one of the founding members of the Dad Vail Regatta, a national championship race for all schools not in the EARC. Throughout its history, the Fordham men's team has won 22 medals — eight in the last 12 years — at collegiate national championships, including the Dad Vail, the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA), and the Champion International Collegiate Regatta. The women's crew, although in existence for only 24 years, is not far behind with 16 national collegiate championship medals —15 of them in the last nine years. Fordham rowers have been outstanding in the classroom as well, winning 17 academic all-American honors since 1992.

Fordham has produced a number of extremely competitive international rowers. Several alumni have competed on national teams and in Olympic trials since 1964. Glen Florio, a 1989 graduate, won a national lightweight single sculling title and raced in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.