Deb Thompson, head coach of Bethel’s swimming and diving teams, has been coming to work on Bethel’s campus since 2018. This year, however, she spent most of her time in Elkhart, Ind.

Nestled downtown on the Elkhart River is the Elkhart Health and Aquatics Center (HAC), home of the Bethel swimming and diving teams. Recently built in 2019, it is one of the largest public swimming facilities in the nation. This year, it also was the host site of the 2025 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Swim and Dive National Championships.

“The Elkhart Aquatics Center is a world-class facility,” Tony Natali, Bethel athletic director, said in an interview. “We look forward to working with the NAIA to provide a great student-athlete experience to all those who attend.”

This event brought over 400 athletes, along with their coaches and families, to Elkhart for a four-day competition. For Elkhart, this meant a substantial boost to the local economy.

The NAIA states on their website that National Championship events have the potential to draw between 1,300-1,500 visitors and generate between $400,000 and $600,000 in local tourism revenue.

Athletic tourism accounts for over $1 billion in economic activity in the Michiana region, and Bethel is proud to play a significant role in continuing to grow that number. Staff and students spent more than 18 months working with the Community Foundation of Elkhart County to prepare for this event, and everyone was excited to showcase the quality of our region’s amenities, facilities and hospitality.

Coach Deb Thompson

“I’m very proud of the students for all their hard work and commitment,” Thompson says. “They spent weeks getting up at 4 a.m. to practice and sacrificed their time to volunteer for this event.”

Thompson and her students know that the benefit of an event like this goes both ways.

“Bethel University benefits from the exposure and national recognition of hosting,” Thompson says. “Our students know how lucky they were to compete at a familiar venue.”

Through the combined efforts of the Bethel team and support from Elkhart County, this event showed that our community has a lot to offer and that Bethel is an integral part of its success.