The Lakshmibai National University of Physical Education, Gwalior was established by the Ministry of Education & Culture, Government of India as Lakshmibai College of Physical Education (LCPE) in August 1957, the centenary year of the War of Independence and located at Gwalior, where Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, a valiant heroine of the war, had laid down her life during the First Freedom Struggle in 1857.
The Institute started as an affiliated college of the Vikram University, Ujjain and then came to the folds of Jiwaji University, Gwalior in 1964. The Institute was given the status of National importance, and hence it was renamed as Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE) in1973. In recognition of its unique status and character and to facilitate its further growth, the college was conferred the status of an ’Autonomous College’ of Jiwaji University, Gwalior in 1982.