Bethesda University is a private Christian university in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

. It was founded in 1976 by

David Yonggi Cho David Yonggi Cho (14 February 1936 – 14 September 2021 as Paul Yungi Cho) was a South Korean Christian minister. With his mother-in-law Choi Ja-shil, he was a cofounder of the Yoido Full Gospel Church (Assemblies of God), the world's largest ...

. The university is accredited by the

Association for Biblical Higher Education The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC) is an evangelical Christian organization of bible colleges in the United States and Canada. It is a member of the International C ...

and the

Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) is a U.S. based institutional accreditation organization that focuses on Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries seeking collegiate accreditation in the United Stat ...

and it is approved by the

Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) is a unit of the California Department of Consumer Affairs charged with regulation of private postsecondary educational institutions operating in the state of California. The BPPE is ...

of the State of California.

Athletics

Bethesda University is a member of the

National Christian College Athletic Association The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) is an association of Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada whose mission is "the promotion and enhancement of intercollegiate athletic ...

(NCCAA). Their men's basketball team was a member of the now defunct

Pacific Christian Athletic Conference The Pacific Christian Athletic Conference (PCAC) is a conference of small Christian colleges located in the Western United States based out of Everett, Washington whose mission is to provide opportunities for intercollegiate athletic competition in ...

(PCAC). They currently have five intercollegiate sports teams made up of men and women's soccer, men and women's basketball, and baseball. The Flames, as they are known, have enjoyed some success in athletics in the past few years. Both women's basketball and baseball have reached the NCCAA's national tournament championship game in 2015 and 2016. Men's soccer has also made national tournament appearances in 2015 and 2016. However, the most prominent accomplishment for their athletics program comes from the men's basketball team. In 2016 and 2021, BU men's basketball, led by Filipino coach Leo Balayon, became only the second non-

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

/ NAIA program in history to upset an

NCAA Division 1 NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

program twice when it defeated

Cal State Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest u ...

of the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

on two occasions. They are the only program to accomplish this historic feat in the Western United States. Former men's basketball head coach Leo Balayon is the only coach in history to lead a non-NCAA/NAIA program to two upset victories against an NCAA D1 opponent. Balayon is the first individual, born and raised in the Philippines, to become a head men's basketball coach in the United States.

References

Universities and colleges in Orange County, California Sports clubs and teams in Anaheim, California Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools Seminaries and theological colleges in California {{California-university-stub