''For other institutions of this name, see the Bethel College disambiguation page.''
is a
Cumberland Presbyterian college in
McKenzie, Tennessee . It was founded in
1842 in
McLemoresville, Tennessee as '''Bethel Seminary''', becoming Bethel College in
1850 , and given a state charter in
1847 , making it the oldest of the colleges on the related Wikipedia
Disambiguation page to use the name "Bethel College." There was a brief time during the
American Civil War that the college was closed but it was reopened as a co-educational institution in
1865 . The college relocated in
1872 to its current campus in McKenzie. In
1906 when the Union (a church governing body) closed all ten Cumberland Presbyterian colleges, only Bethel reopened, becoming, as it remains, the only Cumberland Presbyterian college. Bachelors and Masters degrees are available through Bethel College. The sports teams are
Nickname d the Wildcats and the Lady Wildcats. They participate in the
NAIA 's
TranSouth and
Mid-South Conferences . The school also maintains a center in
Nashville aimed at the "non-tradtional" student (employed adults aged over 24).
