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Debate team finishes season No. 1 in nation

The KU debate team ended the 2007-08 season ranked No. 1 in the country in the National Debate Tournament varsity rankings.

This is the second time in the past three years the KU debate team ended the year on top of the national varsity rankings.

Top Tier Talkers
To view "Top Tier Talkers," a feature including video and photos of debaters in action, visit www.features.ku.edu/debate/.

"The rankings are based on the cumulative performance of the entire squad over the course of the season, including the end-of-the-year national tournaments," said Scott Harris, debate coach.

Harris explained that the final national rankings are distinct from the end-of-the-year national championship tournaments. The national rankings include points earned by teams at the National Debate Tournament and the Cross Examination Debate Association national tournament as well as at other tournaments during the season.

Though Wake Forest University won the National Debate Tournament, their points earned over the season left them in fourth place in the final varsity rankings. Towson University won the CEDA tournament, but they finished 26th in the final varsity rankings. The final debate rankings are not based on judges' subjective votes but on a formula of points earned for wins over the course of the season.

"The rankings are a measure of the talent and depth of the entire squad," Harris said. "This is one of the most talented and hardest working squads we have had at KU in my 17 years as coach."

During this academic year, 16 KU debaters competed at 22 tournaments throughout the country. KU debaters finished first or second at 10 tournaments during the season, including the Cross Examination Debate Association national tournament and tournaments hosted by Harvard and Dartmouth.

KU finished the year with 515 points, ahead of Emory University's 509 points and Harvard's 481 points. Other schools in the top 10 varsity rankings were Wake Forest University, fourth; Dartmouth College, fifth; Binghampton University, sixth; Northwestern University, seventh; Michigan State University, eighth; University of California-Berkeley, ninth; and Missouri State University, 10th.

The varsity rankings are based on points earned by teams competing in open varsity level tournaments. The NDT also has an overall ranking based on total points accumulated including varsity, junior varsity and novice. KU is ranked third in the final overall rankings behind Liberty University and Binghamton University.

Communication studies graduate students assisting Harris this year are doctoral students Jan Hovden, Killdeer, N.D.; Michael Souders, Manhattan; Phillip Samuels, Emporia; Sarah Topp, Pelican Rapids, Minn., and Ben Warner, Price, Utah; and master's degree student student Lindsey Shook, Tulsa, Okla.

NOTABLE ALUMS:

Pioneer nutritionist and 1903 KU graduate Elmer McCollum of Fort Scott initiated the system of naming vitamins with letters and isolated the growth-promoting factors now called vitamins A and B. But he was no pill popper. Rather, he was a fierce believer in nutrition through food, saying vitamins were no more "vital" than other nutrients. His home in Baltimore is a National Historic Landmark.