Weber State University was founded in Ogden, Utah as Weber Stake Academy in 1889. Like Weber County and the Weber River, the school was named after John Henry Weber, an early fur trader.

In 1933, the academy was made a state junior college. Following World WarII, the college outgrew its downtown campus and moved to the present site on the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains overlooking Ogden and the Great Salt Lake.

Weber State College awarded its first baccalaureate degree in 1964. In 1991, the college became Weber State University, appropriately symbolizing its role as one of Utah's premier public, undergraduate universities.