Western Kentucky

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Western Kentucky University is a large public university located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

History

WKU's Academic Competition Club was unofficially founded in November 2009 when three former Kentucky high school quizbowl players (Nick Conder, Brian Riddle, and Shawna Felkins) realized they went to the same school. The team became university-sanctioned in February 2010 and attended two tournaments in the 2009-10 season. The club has slowly grown over the last few seasons and recently started attracting attention from the school administration. The addition of dual-enrolled students from the Gatton Academy, an elite high school on WKU's campus, has enhanced the team's performance in recent years.

Performance

The WKU team regularly attends tournaments hosted by ACF and NAQT, in addition to other circuit tournaments that use pyramidal quizbowl questions. The team started off quite poorly, posting a losing record in each of its first three seasons. The arrival of Matthew Riggle in the 2012-13 season allowed the team to have a scoring threat other than Conder, which allowed them to post top bracket finishes at 2012 ACF Fall and 2013 SCT. With the addition of Alex Malone, WKU managed a 10th place finish in Division II at the 2013 ICT. In February 2014, a car driven by Riggle with 4 other WKU players in it was involved in a non-injury accident traveling to SCT in Lexington, KY. While nobody was hurt, this incident forced the D1 and D2 teams to combine, left the team without Riggle for the event, and forced the D1 team to forfeit their first 3 matches in the tournament. Despite these obstacles, WKU won 6 of 7 games they actually played to take 2nd place. This would qualify WKU for 2014 ICT where they would defeat RPI, Michigan State, and Louisville to secure a tie for 23rd in Division I.

Tournaments Hosted

WKU hosts several high school tournaments a year, with the centerpiece usually being the fall WKU Hilltopper Invitational. The team also hosts an annual JV tournament on SCOP Novice questions, in addition to several mirrors of college tournaments each year. In 2013 WKU played host to the NAQT Kentucky State Championship.

Current Players

The WKU team also uses Gatton Academy students in college tournaments, due to the fact that the Gatton educational program consists of their students taking a full course load of WKU classes alongside regular college students. Some of these players play for WKU on a regular basis, while others prefer high school quizbowl and only appear from time to time.

Former Players

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