The first program of physical education was offered in 1951 in the Department of Physical Recreation and Athletics. A Bachelor degree in Physical Education was first offered in 1964, reflecting a change in philosophy with physical education as a bona fide educational field. Facilities for the Department of Physical Recreation were lacking until the swimming pool was built in 1965 and, more importantly, when the Frank Kennedy Physical Education Centre was completed in 1972. Facilities were improved when construction commenced on the Max Bell Winter Sports Complex in 1981. A Bachelor of Recreation Studies degree was approved by Senate in April 1981 and Faculty status was achieved in May 1982.

In 1990, the Master of Physical Education was changed to the Master of Science. In the spring of 1998, a four-year degree program, the Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science, a revised three-year B.P.E. degree, and a Master of Arts in Recreation Studies were approved by the Council on Post-Secondary Education. In September 2004, the degree designation of the Bachelor of Recreation Studies was changed to the Bachelor of Recreation Management and Community Development. In December 2005, Senate approved the name change of the Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science degree program to the Bachelor of Kinesiology degree program, which became effective in the fall of 2006. At the same time, the Master's of Science in Exercise and Sport Science was renamed the Master's of Science in Kinesiology. Effective July 2007, the University of Manitoba Board of Governors approved the recommendation to change the Faculty name to the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management.