WCTE Academic Bowl
The WCTE Academic Bowl, formerly known as the Upper-Cumberland Academic Bowl, is a televised Quizbowl tournament held by WCTE, the channel 22 Tennessee Upper-Cumberland affiliate of PBS. The tournament has been running since 1986 and is among the oldest tournaments still held in Tennessee, if not the oldest entirely. The WCTE Academic Bowl is not to be confused with East Tennessee PBS Scholar's Bowl. Since its inception, the tournament has been held at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee. Participants are geographically restricted to the Upper-Cumberland area of Tennessee. The tournament’s current moderator is Brian O’Connor, who began his tenure circa 2006. Records of the WCTE Academic Bowl before 2013 are incomplete, if not missing entirely.
In 2024, the first iteration of the WCTE Middle School Academic Bowl was held, also at Tennessee Tech. It was moderated by former Cookeville coach Molly Risley.
Format
From (at least) 2013, WCTE consisted of two eight-minute halves separated by a ten-question lightning round. In 2023, the lightning round was eliminated, but all other rules remained the same. The tossups have no powers or negs and are very commonly recycled from previous years' questions. Question quality is highly variant but has steadily improved over the last decade. Bonuses range from one twenty-point question to four five-point questions, with the maximum value of a bonus never exceeding 20 points. The tournament used to be double elimination, but switched to single-elimination beginning in 2020. Brackets are made according to the standings of the previous year's tournament. The 2021 and 2022 versions of the tournament were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A playlist featuring many of the High School games can be found here: WCTE Academic Bowl. Likewise, a playlist featuring many of the Middle School games can be found here: Middle School WCTE Academic Bowl.
High School Results
| Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Gallatin | Cookeville | 315-235 | 2023 (Fall) | Cookeville | Gallatin | 365-190 |
| 2023 (Spring) | Cookeville | Gallatin | 135-110 | ||||
| 2022 | None | ||||||
| 2021 | None | ||||||
| 2020 | Gallatin | Scott | 450-150 | ||||
| 2019 | Gallatin | Cookeville | 430-220 | ||||
| 2018 | Cookeville | Gallatin | 420-170 | ||||
| 2017 | Cookeville | Gallatin | 370-175 | ||||
| 2016 | Gallatin | Cookeville | 330-220 | ||||
| 2015 | Cookeville | Gallatin | Unknown | ||||
| 2014 | White County | Gallatin | 320-300 | ||||
| 2013 | Cookeville | Gallatin | 370-150 | ||||
| 2012 | Cookeville | York | Unknown | ||||
| 2003 | Cookeville | Unknown | Unknown | ||||
| 2002 | Cookeville | Unknown | Unknown | ||||
| 2001 | Cookeville | Unknown | Unknown | ||||
| 2000 | Cookeville | Unknown | Unknown | ||||
| 1999 | Cookeville | Unknown | Unknown | ||||
| 1998 | Cookeville | Bledsoe County | Unknown | ||||
| 1997 | Cookeville | Unknown | Unknown | ||||
| 1996 | Cookeville | DeKalb County | Unknown |
Middle School Results
| Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Upperman | Portland West | 340-270 |