The Gordon Ford College of Business traces its roots to the Bowling Green Business University, founded in 1884 as the Southern Normal School and Business College. In 1907, The Southern Normal School became Western Kentucky State Normal School, and the Bowling Green Business University began a long history of nationally known programs. In June 1963, Western Kentucky University assumed the business programs of the Bowling Green Business University, and in 1964 the Bowling Green College of Commerce became a division of the University. The name was changed in 1972 to the Bowling Green College of Business and Public Affairs; and following department realignment in 1979, it became the Bowling Green College of Business Administration.

To honor the generosity of Gordon B. Ford, a graduate of the earlier Bowling Green Business University, the College was renamed the Gordon Ford College of Business in December of 1998, becoming the second named business school in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. All business programs offered by the College have been accredited by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, since 1982.