The bespoke building will feature top-of-the-range research, teaching and recreational facilities including a swimming pool, squash courts and treatment rooms.
The centre will open in 2011 in time for the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and will be situated on Cathedral Street in the heart of Glasgow. It will also provide a new base for sports and physical activity - focused teaching and research staff from the University's Education Faculty; and will be open to the wider community.
The news comes shortly after the University unveiled plans for a building for its Faculty of Education, and a new facility to house the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences - a centre for world-class research and drug discovery. The three developments form part of an overall £300 million investment in the campus.
Professor Andrew Hamnett, Principal of the University, said: "This announcement is the culmination of many years of careful planning and hard work by Strathclyde staff, and I'm delighted to launch the plans today.
"The facility will play a pivotal role in training the sports development professionals and teachers of tomorrow, as well as encouraging more exercise across the University community.
"It will also support leading-edge research into the promotion of physical activity and its positive impact on general health, as well as rehabilitation from diseases including cancer and diabetes, and will help us attract more world-class researchers to Strathclyde.
"This centre is not only an investment in our young people, but an investment in the health and well-being of generations to come."
TV sports presenter and University alumnus Dougie Donnelly was among the first to welcome the news. He said: "As Glasgow looks forward with anticipation to the Commonwealth Games in 2014, I'm delighted to endorse the project to build a new sports and health building at the University. Top class facilities are essential to inspire the sports stars of the future.
"As a Strathclyde graduate I'm thrilled student athletes will be supported in their chosen sports and that more participation in sport and physical activity will be encouraged across the board - something in which I believe passionately."
Designs for the centre are being supported by Strathclyde's Project Director for the development, Val Hunter, who was awarded a Travelling Fellowship from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust last year. The award enabled her to investigate cutting-edge sports centres and meet policy makers in America, Canada, Australia and Scandinavia to bring back new ideas for Scotlan