[citation needed] Midland University was founded as an educational institution in 1883 as Luther Academy.

The original building, located in Wahoo, Nebraska, was dedicated on November 10, 1883, the 400th anniversary of Martin Luther’s birth.

[4][5] In 1946, plans were announced to build a new all-men dormitory honoring the students who served during World War II.

[12] In 1983, Midland announced that it would be replacing original administration building with a newer facility that would later be known as the Anderson Complex.

[18][19] In 2009, Midland Lutheran College had a seven-figure financial deficit and its lowest enrollment since WWII, at 598.

The school's freshman enrollment increased by 32% from fall 2011 to fall 2012; then-president Ben Sasse (who went on to serve as United States senator from Nebraska from 2015 to 2023, and was the 13th President of the University of Florida, Gainesville) attributed this growth, in part, to the new policy.

The HLC called for Midland to file final reports in 2014, demonstrating that these concerns had been resolved.

[31] In November 2014, the Higher Learning Commission confirmed that its concerns were resolved by removing the “on notice” sanction.

In its early days, Midland had been a member of the Pi Kappa Delta national forensics honor society.

The team is regionally successful and took third place in individual events at the 2024 national Pi Kappa Delta tournament.

Midland competes in 33 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, powerlifting, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor) and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, flag football,[35] golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, powerlifting, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor), volleyball and wrestling; and co-ed sports include cheerleading, dance, eSports and shotgun sports.

[22] The Warriors softball team appeared in two Women's College World Series (WCWS) in 1970 and 1971.

Midland University won both the men's and women's raw titles at the 2019 USA Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals.