The university was established in 1969 as the Krasnodar Institute of Physical Education. In 1994, the institute was transformed into the Kuban State Academy of Physical Education. In 2003, it was given university status.
The university includes many disciplines: 10 departments and 27 faculties, the Humanities College founded in 1995, and the Olympic reserve school established in 2011. The university grants master's degrees, postgraduate degrees and doctor's degrees. There are also the R&D Institute of Physical Education and Sport Studies and the Foreign Language Teaching Centre.
The university has branches in Rostov-on-Don and Yeisk. It was used as a platform to establish the Olympic Academy of the South of Russia. The university employs 276 instructors and lecturers.
In the 42 years since its establishment the university has prepared over 22,000 specialists, including 22 Olympic champions. In the last five years, 167 students graduated from the university with top ranking and titles in sport (11 Merited Masters of Sports, 32 Masters of International Grade, 124 Masters of Sports of Russia). Thirty-two world champions, 23 European champions and 63 Russian champions were university students at different times. In 2010, 22 students made it to national teams.
In 2011, the university beat other colleges in a contest to become a centre for recruiting service volunteers for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.