Southeastern Invitational
The Southeastern Invitational was held annually since 1970 until 2011, usually at Berry but sometimes at other schools in the greater Atlanta area. This tournament essentially created the independent quizbowl circuit following the demise of the College Bowl TV show. In the early years, the winning team would host the tournament the next year and write all the questions for that tournament. Of course, they would sit out that tournament since they wrote the questions.
Such programs as Emory and Georgia Tech, which were the trendsetters of the independent circuit for over twenty years, were formed in order to compete in this tournament. Personalities such as Gordon Carper, Carol Guthrie, Robert Meredith, and Don Windham, who were the most important individuals in the formation of quizbowl over that time period, all became involved through organizing or competing in this tournament.
In later years, the tournament became something of a "secret" event, often announced only to a quaintly selected list of participants via private e-mail, and never releasing its questions or statistics to the outside world. The last public information about the event suggest that its final version took place in 2011. [1] Despite this recent decline in prominence, its role in the early formation of quizbowl cannot be overstated.
For an example of the kinds of questions asked at the Southeastern, see this packet from the 1989 edition.
The following list of early tournament winners was posted in 1989:
| Year | Date | Host | Champion | Second | Third | Fourth | Editor | Field size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Valdosta State | ||||||||
| 1971 | Berry | ||||||||
| 1972 | Georgia Southwestern | defeated Stetson in de-facto final; team members: Richard Stewart, Sharon Schlef, Lynnette McCormick, Russell Muller; coach, Gerald Critoph | |||||||
| 1973 | February 2-3 | Georgia Southwestern | Georgia Southern | 7 | Other teams included Berry (2 teams), Georgia Southwestern, Shorter, Spelman, and Valdosta State | ||||
| 1974 | February 15-16 | Georgia Southern | Berry | Georgia Tech | Georgia Southern | ||||
| 1975 | February 28 - March 1 | Berry | Georgia Tech | Berry | Georgia Southern | Columbus | |||
| 1976 | Berry | ||||||||
| 1977 | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| 1978 | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| 1979 | Georgia Southwestern | ||||||||
| 1980 | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| 1981 | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| 1982 | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| 1983 | Emory | ||||||||
| 1984 | Davidson | ||||||||
| 1985 | Emory | ||||||||
| 1986 | Davidson | ||||||||
| 1987 | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| 1988 | NC State | ||||||||
| 1989 | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| 1994 | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| 2007 | Alabama | ||||||||
| 2008 | Alabama | ||||||||
| 2009 | Alabama | ||||||||
| 2010 | Berry |
- 1970: Valdosta State
- 1971: Berry
- 1972: Georgia Southwestern (defeated Stetson in de-facto final; team members: Richard Stewart, Sharon Schlef, Lynnette McCormick, Russell Muller; coach, Gerald Critoph)
- 1973: Georgia Southern
- 1974: Berry
- 1975: Georgia Tech
- 1976: Berry
- 1977: Georgia Tech
- 1978: Georgia Tech
- 1979: Georgia Southwestern
- 1980: Georgia Tech
- 1981: Georgia Tech
- 1982: Georgia Tech
- 1983: Emory
- 1984: Davidson
- 1985: Emory
- 1986: Davidson
- 1987: Georgia Tech
- 1988: NC State
- 1989: Georgia Tech
More recent results:
- 1994: Georgia Tech
- 2007: Alabama
- 2008: Alabama
- 2009: Alabama
- 2010: Berry