and accredited professional programs in nursing, social work and teacher education. Athletics The Bethel athletic teams are called the Threshers. The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) since the 1939–40 academic year; which they were a member on a previous stint from 1902–03 to December 1928 (of the 1928–29 school year). Bethel competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis and track and field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, flag football (added in fall 2022), soccer, softball, tennis, track and field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading and dance. Mascot The mascot is a threshing stone, based on a piece of farm equipment that the Mennonites who moved to the Great Plains of the United States and Canada in the late 1800s used briefly (just before the invention and near-universal adoption of the mechanical threshing machine) for threshing their wheat crops. In 2022, a new mascot, "Threshy," was revealed during the college's Fall Festival homecoming game. The mascot incorporated Bethel's threshing stone logos and styles on the character's head, arms, and shoulder, and was covered in the college's iconic maroon and gray. Facilities The newest facilities on campus are both athletics-related, the Ward Tennis Center (2010) and the Allen Wedel Softball Field (2017; clubhouse completed summer 2021). Notable people Faculty Jacob Ewert, Mennonite socialist, pacifist and publisher Joseph Kesselring, voice instructor, writer and playwright Alumni Daniel Hege (B.A., 1987), music director, Wichita Symphony Orchestra John Janzen (B.A., 1961), professor emeritus, Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas Gordon D. Kaufman (B.A., 1947), theologian and professor, Harvard Divinity School Susan Loepp (B.A., 1989), mathematician Polingaysi Qöyawayma (Bethel Academy, 1915), Hopi educator, writer and potter; Outstanding Alumnus, 1979 Jacob A. Schowalter, philanthropist Waldo R. Wedel (Bethel Academy, 1926), archaeologist, central figure in the study of the prehistory of the Great Plains Dallas Wiebe, writer See also Threshing stone Newton, Kansas Arkansas Valley Interurban Railway References Further reading Kaufman, Edmund G. (1973), General Conference Mennonite Pioneers, Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas. Pannabecker, Samuel Floyd (1975), Open Doors: A History of the General Conference Mennonite Church, Faith and Life Press. External links Bethel Athletics website Bethel College in Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Buildings and structures in Harvey County, Kansas Education in Harvey County, Kansas Educational institutions established in