Southwestern Christian University is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Bethany, Oklahoma Bethany is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The community was founded in 1909 by followers of the Church of the Nazarene from Oklahoma City. History Bethany was founded July 28 ...

. It was founded in 1946 as Southwestern Bible College in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, and was the first Pentecostal educational institution in the state. While it was established as a

Bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological educ ...

for the training of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

church leaders within the

International Pentecostal Holiness Church The International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) or simply Pentecostal Holiness Church (PHC) is a Holiness-Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1911 with the merger of two older denominations. Historically centered in the Southeaster ...

, the denomination planned to quickly expand the school into a

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

History

By the 1960s the college had developed a junior college program (becoming

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

in 1964) and was able to open its doors to an expanding student body. During this time it began a steady growth as one of the largest junior colleges in the country and the largest within the Pentecostal Holiness Church. These broad changes resulted in various buildings being built (Light Library, Irwin Learning Center, Mabee Science Center, and the Mash Loflin Field House) and degree offerings saw the name shifting to Oklahoma City Southwestern College (OCSC) to better reflect the scope of the expanded school. However, in 1981 the governing body of the denomination decided to re-focus the goals of the institution. The International Pentecostal Holiness Church ended the school's junior college plan and scaled back the institution to an abbreviated form of its original design. As a result, it became a Ministry training college. In addition to this they moved to the Oklahoma City suburb of

. At this time the name changed from Southwestern Bible College to Southwestern College of Christian Ministries (SCCM). In 1998, in response to changing needs, the school implemented a five-year program to change its direction. A Master of Ministry graduate program was developed and added in this time period. As a result of these combined changes, in 2001 the school, Southwestern Christian University, was granted a name change by the North Central accrediting body. An integral part of Oklahoma City history for over half a century, SCU developed beyond the parameters of just a

to become a full Christian

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

university.

Accreditation and approval

SCU is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

and approved by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. It is also approved by the General Department of Church Education Ministries of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church for training ministers, missionaries, and Christian workers and the

Association of Christian Schools International The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), founded in 1978, is an association of evangelical Christian schools. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. History ACSI was founded in 1978 through the merger of three as ...

(ACSI) to offer Bible and theology courses for teacher certification for Christian day schools.

Athletics

The Southwestern Christian athletic teams are called the Eagles. The university is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

Sooner Athletic Conference The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 12 sc ...

(SAC) since the 2013–14 academic year. They are also 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 co ...

(NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the Central Region of the Division I level. The Eagles previously competed in the defunct

Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference The Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) was an intercollegiate athletic conference that competed in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Members of the conference were located in the Midwest United States and were located ...

(MCAC) from 2010–11 to 2012–13. Southwestern Christian competes in 13 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include archery and cheerleading. Former sports include men's & women's bowling and men's & women's tennis. In 2015, disgraced basketball coach Dave Bliss was hired as the head coach at NAIA-member school Southwestern Christian University. Bliss resigned from Southwestern Christian on April 3, 2017, following the airing of the Showtime documentary Disgraced, which chronicled the cover-up at Baylor.

Accomplishments

In 2014, basketball player Tyler Inman won the NAIA Men's Basketball Dunk Contest and was drafted by the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Coord, 35, 30, 46, N, 97, 38, 29, W, format=dms, display=title, type:edu_region:US-OK Pentecostal universities and colleges Pentecostalism in Oklahoma Private universities and colleges in Oklahoma Educational institutions established in 1946 Education in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma 1946 establishments in Oklahoma