Concordia Chicago, originally named Addison Teachers Seminary, was founded in the Lutheran tradition by Saxon German immigrants in 1864.

Lutheran teacher training in the United States began in Perry County, Missouri; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1839, 1846, and 1855 respectively.

In October 1863, the LCMS in convention voted unanimously to move the teachers seminary to Addison, Illinois, appointed the first Praeses of the institution, and instructed that a new building be constructed on land donated by a local Lutheran congregation.

The West District School Society (today's St. Paul Lutheran Church) sold 6 acres (2.4 ha) to the college for the nominal amount of $10 in November 1863, and construction began on a new facility, with the cornerstone-laying service on June 15, 1864.

[9] The Civil War impeded construction, so a vacant nearby two-story tavern building was rented to ensure the new teachers' seminary could carry out its educational training as scheduled, beginning September 1, 1864.

On May 20, 1913, the faculty settled on Concordia Teachers College with the official charter from the Illinois Secretary of State's office being issued on April 28, 1915.

Eleven years later, in 1990, having experienced tremendous growth in its graduate offerings, the school reorganized and changed its legal name to Concordia University.

Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, and track & field; women's sports include basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, and volleyball.

The Wind Symphony, Concordia's premiere instrumental ensemble,[18] has performed in 43 states, Europe, Asia, and most recently, South Africa.

[19][20] The Kapelle, under the direction of Charles Brown,[21] is the university's premiere choral ensemble,[22] and has performed around the U.S. and in Europe and South America.