Parru Ry was founded in the early 1970s. In 1972, it was established by students interested in physical activity and sports to improve the athletic and recreational opportunities of the still relatively new university. In December 1973, the representative council of Lappeenranta University of Technology was asked to approve the official establishment of a new club under the student union. Parru received its name at the beginning of 1974, after which its role as a promoter of physical activity among university students became official.

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Later, Parru separated from the student union and became an independent association, which it remains today. Parru Ry still operates under LTKY, but as an organization it is fully independent.

The traditional Karelian sport of kyykkä has been part of the hobbies of Lappeenranta’s engineering students, and later also business students, since Parru’s early years. Kyykkä was long practiced under Parru, but in the 1980s the Nationaali Kyykkä Liiga (NKL) split off to form its own association. Shortly before this, the NKL Fan Club had also operated under Parru, and it remains the only Parru subdivision that functioned purely as a supporters’ group.

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Over the years, Parru has organized competitive activities in ice hockey, volleyball, basketball, football, and indoor football (futsal). Most of this competition has taken place in various recreational leagues, but the men’s futsal team has also competed at a high enough level for its results to appear on the Teletext sports pages beloved by armchair fans. In addition to recreational leagues, Parru has gained recognition by setting world records, including in both the 100-meter relay and the 400-meter relay. Currently, Parru’s active competitive operations consist of teams in ice hockey, futsal, floorball, basketball, and American football.

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Parru’s range of sports has grown significantly during the 2020s, and its activities have reached several hundred new students. In 2022, a women’s futsal team and a men’s floorball team were founded. The following year, women also received their own floorball team, and the activities of the Parru Ice Girls, originally founded in 2018, were revived in the form of the Parru Ice Skaters team. In 2024, LUT Golf, founded in 2020, joined Parru, and a new sport was introduced with the establishment of the Parru Basketball team. In January 2025, Parru Pesäpallo began operations, and later that year basketball training also got properly underway. Parru’s newest additions are Parru Padel and Parru Dancers, both founded in early 2026.

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In addition, Parru’s activities have expanded to the Lahti campus through ice hockey and volleyball teams. For now, these teams have remained at a purely recreational level.