Southwestern College ( Kansas ) Southwestern College is a four - year private college affiliated with the United Methodist Church located in Winfield , Kansas , United States . It was founded in 1885 and graduated its first class in 1889 . In addition to its campus programs , it offers online programs . Academics . The main campus is a laptop learning community , with laptop computers provided to all incoming students . An emphasis on service learning has led to nationally - recognized programs in leadership , discipleship , and sustainability ( green issues ) . In addition to bachelor ' s degrees , several master ' s programs give undergraduate students the option of completing a graduate degree . Its doctoral degree in education started during the summer of 2012 . Southwestern College ' s professional studies programs focus on degree completion for working adults . Six professional studies sites in three states allow students to earn their bachelor ' s degrees and selected master ' s programs in either a traditional classroom setting or online . The ground locations are in Wichita , McConnell AFB , Fort Riley , Kansas and Midwest City , Oklahoma . The school owns and operates radio station KSWC . Accreditation . Southwestern College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association . It is further accredited by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church and other accrediting bodies for individual majors . Athletics . Southwestern College teams are nicknamed as the Moundbuilders . The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ( NAIA ) , primarily competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference ( KCAC ) . Men ' s sports include basketball , cross country , football , golf , soccer , tennis and track & field ; while women ' s sports include basketball , cheerleading , cross country , dance , golf , soccer , softball , tennis , track & field and volleyball . The Men ' s Track Team has won 30 consecutive conference championships , while the women have won 16 straight . Men ' s Cross Country has won 30 consecutive conference championships , while the women have won 4 straight and 11 of the last 14 , with the school garnering 134 conference championships in nine different sports since 1960 . The track teams are coached by Jim Helmer and Mike Kirkland . The school has had over 160 All - American scholar - athletes since 1980 . Southwestern College football players have gone on to successful coaching careers , including Jerry Kill , currently head football coach at the University of Minnesota . " The Mound " . The college ' s nickname , " Moundbuilders , " ( frequently shortened to just " Builders " ) has inspired the creation of a large pile of rocks on the college campus , called " The Mound . " At the beginning of each school year , the " Moundbuilding Ceremony " allows students , faculty , clubs , and guests of Southwestern College to place a rock on the Mound . Participants are invited to decorate their rocks with paint , and some are decorated quite creatively . Although rocks are never removed from the Mound , the Mound itself was moved from the upper campus to the lower campus in the 1970s when Darbeth Fine Arts Building was built on the original site of the Mound . A major renovation in 2006 added a plaza area around the Mound with commemorative stones , benches , and landscaping . The nickname Moundbuilders originated in 1910 when students wanted to be called something other than " Preachers " or " Methodists . " Editorialists toyed with various suggestions based on the fact that Southwestern students lived on " the hill . " The name " Cliff - dwellers " was suggested but was ultimately scrapped for " Moundbuilders " after student Harry Hart wrote that " anybody could just dwell there , but ' builders ' shows action . " The Moundbuilding ceremony was instituted in 1927 by Dean Leroy Allen who said , " Nobody but Moundbuilders can build mounds . So no other college has now , or ever is likely to have such a custom . " The Order of the Mound . The Order of the Mound is the official Honor Society for Southwestern College graduates . Although the society was formally organized in 1917 , membership in the Order of the Mound includes graduates from 1889 onward . In 1927 , a process was established to induct qualified graduates from years prior to 1917 . Currently , to qualify for induction , students must be in the top 10 % of all graduates who have completed at least 60 graded hours or more at Southwestern College .