The University of Toledo began in 1872 as a private arts and trades school, offering subjects such as painting and architectural drawing.

[8] Jesup Wakeman Scott, a local newspaper editor, published a pamphlet in 1868 entitled "Toledo: Future Great City of the World.

To prepare for such growth of industry and commerce, Scott donated 160 acres of land as an endowment for a university.

It offered a three-year program for students at least 13 years old who received both academic and manual instruction in the trades.

[8] Along with the expanded academic offerings, extracurricular activities increased with the university's first intercollegiate athletic programs forming in 1915.

[8] Although twice the size of the old buildings, the location on the Scott land quickly became outdated after a 32 percent increase in enrollment created a shortage in classroom space.

[8] Although enrollments remained stable during the Great Depression, Philip C. Nash, who became president following Doermann's sudden death, instituted drastic measures to cut costs, and made use of New Deal funds from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration to help pay for new construction and scholarships.

[8] The entry of the United States into World War II dramatically affected the university, adding funding for new, expanded programs.

[8] The university, under new president Dr. Asa Knowles, continued White's plan and completed a new men's dormitory in 1952 and the new library in 1953.

[8] Ohio's three largest municipal universities continued to push for financial assistance from the state and finally succeeded on July 1, 1967.

UT experienced racial tension when a protest by African American students in May 1970 in response to Jackson State killings temporarily closed University Hall.

Also that year, President Carlson retired, and Glen R. Driscoll was selected as new university president and began further expansion of the university with the addition of the Center for Performing Arts and Centennial Hall in 1976, the Center for Continuing Education in 1978, and Stranahan Hall in 1984.

That same year, the Greek Village and the Larimer Athletic Complex was completed and the Glass Bowl underwent renovations.

[8] And construction began in 1995 on a Pharmacy, Chemistry and Life Sciences complex on the main campus and a Lake Erie Research Center at Maumee Bay State Park.

Computer labs and hook-ups in dorms and offices provided Internet access and the university established a homepage on the World Wide Web.

[8] After a protracted protest by students, staff, faculty and community members, the board of trustees of the university agreed to include domestic partner benefits in the health care portion of the contract for faculty and staff with an effective start date of April 1, 2006.

The protest gained momentum after November 2004, when issue 1 was voted into law as an Ohio Constitutional amendment but began over a decade earlier with the work of several faculty members.

The college's "Future of Pharmacy" campaign (2008–2010) was initiated to raise scholarship and equipment funds for the college's expansion into a new building on the health science campus, an expansion that will increase educational and research opportunities for students and faculty.

It is the sixth largest university in Ohio by enrollment, and offers a 20:1 student-to-faculty ratio and a median class size of 25.

These include the Honors College, study abroad, service learning, various clubs, and undergraduate research.

The Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization (PVIC) was created in January 2007 with an $18.6 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development and $30 million from federal agencies, universities and industrial partners to perform research involved establishing science and technology platforms, employing second and third generation photovoltaics (PV) materials, and devices tailored for applications in clean electricity generation.

[23] The center's research is focused on improving large area materials and devices, increasing the efficiency of solar technologies, and lowering production costs – with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of solar-powered electrical generation systems in homes, businesses, and utilities, as well as supporting the nation's defense and aerospace needs for advanced solar energy systems.

The University of Toledo's athletic teams play as the Rockets, and uniforms sport the colors midnight blue and gold.

The Rockets football team holds eleven Mid-American Conference championships, in 1967 (co-champion with Ohio) 1969, 1970, 1971, 1981, 1984, 1990 (co-champs with Western Michigan), 1995, 2001, 2004, 2017, and 2022.

Toledo Rockets football played in the 2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on December 26, 2010, against Florida International.

The team received an NCAA Award For High Academic Performance Toledo tied for third-best APR mark in nation and MAC for second straight year.[when?]

The University of Toledo men's basketball program ranks at the top of the Mid-American Conference for a second straight year in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Academic Performance Rating (APR).[when?]

Toledo's 994 rating was tied for third place among all NCAA Division I men's basketball programs and trails only Columbia and Davidson.[when?]

The two teams formerly played for a trophy each year known as the Peace Pipe, a prize that originated in basketball but progressed to football in 1980.

Besides belonging to the ACHA, the team is also an original member of a conference known as the Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League (TSCHL) which was established in 2010.