St. Gregory's traces its roots to the Sacred Heart Mission, founded in Atoka, Oklahoma on October 12, 1875 by the Benedictine monks Father Isidore Robot, O.S.B., and Brother Dominic Lambert, O.S.B. In 1876, the mission relocated near Konawa, Oklahoma and became an abbey. Sacred Heart College was founded with the permission of the Vatican in 1877 and later gained approval from the territorial government in 1883. The school was known as St. Gregory's College until 1997, when it changed from a junior college to a baccalaureate-conferring university. In 2005 St. Gregory's was accredited to offer a graduate program in business and began offering classes in March 2006.