Names for quizbowl
Etymology
College Bowl referred to its activity as "quiz bowl" since the beginning of the program. This was probably in imitation of college football bowl games and accordingly College Bowl events would often feature large audiences and campus fanfare.
Usage
"quizbowl" vs. "quiz bowl"
Usage of quizbowl as a compound word, as opposed to "quiz bowl", in two words, seems to be a rather recent phenomenon. Although both word forms are in contemporary usage, "quizbowl" is more generally accepted by mainstream quizbowl. Most media outlets still refer to "quiz bowl". NAQT's official style uses "quiz bowl". There is also occasional usage of a hyphenated term, rendered as "quiz-bowl".
"The Quiz Bowl"
Referring to quizbowl as a countable noun with a definite article (e.g. "I played in the quiz[ ]bowl", is now somewhat archaic, although use of an adjective with a definite article ("I played in the quiz[ ]bowl tournament") is common. This construction also dates back to GE College Bowl.
Scholar's Bowl
KSHSAA (Kansas), MSHSAA (Missouri), and the Vermont NEA each sponsor an activity officially known as Scholar Bowl, Scholars Bowl, Scholar's Bowl, or Scholars' Bowl. That name is also popular in southern Illinois.
Scholastic Bowl
The IHSA sponsors an activity officially called Scholastic Bowl. Most teams in Illinois with a connection to the national circuit refer to the activity as quiz[ ]bowl, although the principal quizbowl organization in Illinois—the Illinois High School Scholastic Bowl Coaches Association—does not officially do so. Some teams are formally known as "[School] Academic Team", "[School] Quiz Team", or other variations. VHSL in Virginia also uses Scholastic Bowl.
Knowledge Bowl
In the United States, Knowledge Bowl almost exclusively refers to a specific game played with Academic Hallmarks questions. NAQT had at one time apparently paid for a Google search query for "knowledge bowl" as yielding its website as the first result.
Brain Bowl
Some formats and competitions using the Brain Bowl name including:
Academic Competition
The MSHSAA-sponsored activity was originally called "Academic Competition", a term that remains in the name of the Missouri Academic Competition Message Board. Schools rarely referred to their teams by this term, which prompted the name change to "Scholar Bowl" before the 2010-2011 season [1]. High schools in Missouri tend to use "quiz bowl", "scholar bowl", or "academic team".