Division I and Division II
Disclaimer: This article is about rules. Its contents are not authoritative. Please consult official rules for up-to-date information.
| NAQT | gameplay rules • eligibility rules • correctness guidelines |
|---|---|
| ACF | gameplay rules • eligibility rules |
| PACE | gameplay and eligibility rules |
Division II (DII) is a designation used in in collegiate quizbowl. The exact definition varies (NAQT has one definition and ACF has another) but essentially, a player is eligible for Division II if they have relatively little experience or success in collegiate quizbowl (though they may have extensive experience in high school and/or middle school quizbowl). A team is eligible for Division II if all of its players are eligible for Division II.
Division I (DI) generally indicates any collegiate quiz bowl team that is not eligible for Division II (i.e., contains at least one player who is not eligible for Division II, though it may also contain some players who are). A Division II-eligible team can choose to play in Division I.
Definitions
Unlike NCAA divisions, division status is a function of the specific players on a specific team, not of a school. A school can generally enter one or more Division I teams and also one or more Division II teams.
All players who are eligible to play in closed quiz bowl events are eligible for Division I. The term "eligibility" on its own is typically used metonymically to refer to Division I eligibility as a result.
The only tournaments to have the notion of Division I/Division II are ACF Regionals, ACF Nationals, NAQT SCT, and NAQT ICT.
ACF
A player is DI eligible for ACF tournaments if they satisfy one of three rules:
- Rule A (Section 4A): Any undergraduate is eligible by taking classes for credit or equivalent work
- Rule B (Section 4B): Any non-undergraduate is eligible if they are in a postsecondary degree program
- Rule C (Section 4C): Anyone else must be taking at least three full-credit courses a year
For more rigorous definitions of these terms and exact details, please read the official ACF eligibility rules.
They are DII eligible if they are DI eligible and first enrolled in college that year or the immediately prior year. Thus, all DII eligible players are necessarily undergraduates.
ACF Regionals and Nationals have all teams play together on the same questions, but give some separate awards.
NAQT
A player is DI eligible for NAQT tournaments if they are taking three semester-hours worth of courses or other degree work, or lower course loads corresponding to normal progress towards a degree. For more exact criteria, please read the official NAQT DI rules.
They are DII eligible if they have never played on a team which was invited to ICT and never attended ICT. This means that players of any age can be DII eligible, including graduate students. For additional caveats, see the NAQT DII rules.
NAQT Sectional Championship Tournaments and ICT have separate competitions for each division, with Division II playing on easier questions, provided that there are enough teams in each division (which for the ICT is essentially guaranteed).