Wichita State News: Debate

Shocker debate team starts season with win

The Wichita State University debate team started its season off with a first place finish at its first tournament.

Senior Eric Robinson and junior Brian Box earned first place at the University of Northern Iowa, defeating Emporia State University in the final round on a 3-0 decision. They defeated Northwestern University 3-0 in the semifinals and were 6-2 in the preliminary debates.

This is the second year Robinson has won this tournament.

WSU sophomores Creighton Coleman and Matt Munday posted a 5-3 preliminary record, defeating Macalester College in the octafinals before losing to Emporia State in the quarterfinals.

The freshman team of Tom Garvey and Tyler Joe also competed at the tournament, earning their first two college debate wins. They were among the only two first-year debaters competing in the open division of the tournament.

Two WSU debate teams qualify for national tournament

The Wichita State University debate teams of Eric Robinson and Matt Coleman, and Patrick Rinker and Brian Box, have earned coveted invitations to the 2009 National Debate Tournament (NDT) being held March 26-30 at the University of Texas.

It has been about 10 years since WSU has qualified two teams to the national tournament, and it's only the third time in more than 60 years.

Only 78 teams – 10 percent of all the teams that debate across the country – are invited to the prestigious tournament.

Senior Matt Coleman will make his fourth appearance at the tournament.

Only a few students from across the country attend the NDT four times, and Coleman will join an elite company of college debaters who have accomplished this feat.

Coleman and Robinson's current debate record is 53-12, an 81 percent winning record.

Rinker and Box posted a 6-2 record at the district qualifying tournament to earn their spot.

Wichita State debate team has strong national showing

The Wichita State University debate team competed successfully in its first major national debate during the weekend of Nov. 15-16.

In a competition at Wake Forest University, the team of Matt Coleman and Eric Robinson qualified for the elimination rounds after posting a 5-1 record in the preliminary rounds.

With nearly 150 teams in the competition, the team from WSU earned the 16th seed and was one of 32 teams to advance to the single-elimination bracket.

The team lost in a 2-1 decision to Harvard University in the first elimination debate.

Jeff Jarman

Debate coach Jeff Jarman said, despite the loss, he couldn't be happier with the team's results.

"We were thrilled to do this well," he said. "We knew that our team was good, but this was our first showing at a national tournament. It's nice to confirm what we thought we knew, which is that we're nationally competitive."

The debate team has a break in competition until early January, when it will travel to the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Dallas.

Student debate team wins first debate of the semester

In their first tournament of the fall 2008 semester, the Wichita State debate team recorded a first-place finish.

The debate was held in September at the University of Northern Iowa.

WSU's top team of Matt Coleman and Eric Robinson won the Open division.

They were undefeated (8-0) in the preliminary debate and won every ballot in the elimination rounds, beating the University of Kansas, the University of Minnesota and Concordia College throughout the entire competition.

The topic was the reform of agricultural subsidies in the United States.

Out of nearly 50 people, Coleman was named the top speaker of the weekend, and Robinson placed sixth.

Patrick Rinker and Brian Box qualified for the elimination rounds with a 5-3 preliminary record.

The team beat Concordia College in the round of 16 and lost to the University of Texas-San Antonio in the quarterfinals.

First-year debaters Matt Munday and Creighton Coleman also competed in the Open division, earning three wins at their first college tournament.

Wichita State debate team finishes on top

The Wichita State University student debate team of Matt Coleman and Eric Robinson took first place in the open division at its first tournament of the semester Sept. 20-21.

Three teams traveled to the University of Northern Iowa to compete, and Coleman and Robinson went undefeated in eight rounds of preliminary debate. They didn't lose a single ballot in the elimination rounds.

The pair defeated the University of Kansas in the finals, the University of Minnesota in the semifinals, and Concordia College in the quarterfinals. Coleman finished first and Robinson finished sixth out of almost 50 debaters.

Patrick Rinker and Brian Box qualified for the elimination rounds with a 5-3 preliminary record, defeating Concordia College in the 16th round and losing to the University of Texas at San Antonio in the quarterfinals.

First-year debaters Matt Munday and Creighton Coleman also competed in the open division and earned three wins at their first college tournament.

The debate topic was the reform of agricultural subsidies in the U.S. WSU's debate team is led by Jeffrey Jarman, director of speech and debate and associate director of the Elliott School of Communication.

The WSU team is set to host the Moorhouse Debate Tournament on campus Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 27-28, and Monday, Sept. 29 at the Best Western Wichita North before traveling to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the following weekend.

National debate tourney bringing 200 teams to WSU

Wichita State University will play host this spring to the National Championship Tournament of the Cross Examination Debate Association.

Jeffrey Jarman

The tournament is the largest policy debate tournament in the country. About 200 college teams will compete, and more than 500 people are expected to attend.

The last time WSU hosted CEDA Nationals was in 1997. WSU also hosted the tournament in 1986.

This year's event will focus on U.S. constructive engagement with Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon and/or the Palestinian Authority.

Eight preliminary debates will be held Friday, March 21, and Saturday, March 22. Following will be single elimination debates Sunday, March 23, and Monday, March 24. The final round will be held at about 9 p.m. Monday, March 24.

Debates Friday-Sunday will be on the WSU campus. Elimination rounds on Monday will be at the Wichita Marriott.

Two awards ceremonies will recognize the accomplishments of students, coaches and alumni. The first is scheduled for Thursday, March 20. The second is set for Sunday, March 23.

Wichita and Kansas have a strong track record at the high school and collegiate ranks in training students to compete successfully in speech and debate at the highest levels.

WSU's debate team was ranked No. 9 in the nation in December and continues to come up with impressive results.

Jeffrey Jarman, Elliott School of Communication assistant professor and director of speech and debate, leads WSU's debate team.

Susan Huxman, director of the Elliott School, said she is pleased with WSU's results and the opportunity to host such a prestigious event.

"It requires first that the host university be a serious contender on the national stage," Huxman said. "WSU debate has been strong for many years, especially the past five. It's really amazing the amount of research, reasoning and presentation polish that go into preparation for national debate competitions. Debate teaches the building blocks of a liberal arts education and is consistent with the mission of WSU to groom articulate citizens for our times."

WSU debaters easily qualify to 2008 national championships

The Wichita State University student debate team of Matt Coleman and Eric Robinson earned an automatic bid to the 2008 National Championship Tournament of the Cross Examination Debate Association during a competition held in late February.

Coleman has become only the second WSU debater in the past 30 years to qualify three times to the national debate tournament, scheduled for March 21-24 at WSU.

With six wins and two losses, the team claimed the 5th seed. In addition, Coleman was named the 5th speaker – out of nearly 50 – at the tournament.

The WSU team of Patrick Rinker and Zach Brown also competed at the competition. With only three wins, the team did not earn an automatic bid to nationals. But they have an overall winning percentage high enough to merit consideration for an at-large bid. That announcement will be made in two weeks.

WSU earned its third straight bid to the national tournament and second consecutive bid through the district tournament.