Bethany Lutheran College


Bethany Lutheran College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Mankato, Minnesota. Founded in 1927, BLC is operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The campus overlooks the Minnesota River valley in a community of 53,000.

History

Bethany Ladies College opened in 1911 with 44 students and a faculty of four. In 1927, the Norwegian Synod of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church purchased the campus for dual use as both a high school and junior college. In 1946, Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary began as a department of the college, becoming a separate institution in 1975.
In 2001, Bethany awarded its first baccalaureate degrees, completing a five-year transition from its 74-year history as a junior college.

Timeline

The Vikings are members of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference in the NCAA Division III. The school offers the following sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men and women's cross country, men and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, volleyball, and men's and women's track & field.
In 2020, the men's and woman's basketball teams both won the UMAC Conference Championships. In the 2020 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament, the men's team was knocked out by Washington University in St. Louis, 102-68. The woman's team entered the first round against Bethel University, a university five times the size of Bethany Lutheran. At that point, no UMAC basketball team had defeated a larger MIAC school in the playoffs, but the Vikings beat Bethel 62-58. They continued on to play University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, losing 67-60.

Notable graduates