Western Kentucky
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. During the 2010-11 season, the club began hosting high school tournaments and competed in five collegiate events. The 2011-12 season saw the team compete in five collegiate events while also hosting three high school tournaments and a mirror of Penn Bowl.
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 another scoring threat than Conder, which allowed them to post top bracket finishes at ACF Fall and SCT. With the addition of dual-enrolled high school player Alex Malone, WKU managed a 10th place finish in Division II at the 2013 ICT.
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 collegiate tournaments over the last couple years. In 2013 WKU played host to the 2013 NAQT Kentucky State Championship.
Current Players
- Nick Conder (2009-present)
- Cole Phelps (2009-present)
- Terence Donohue (2011-present)
- Joey Wallace (2012-present)
- Matthew Riggle (2012-present)
- Alex Malone (2013-present)
Former Players
- Brian Riddle, Founding Member (2009-12)
- Shawna Felkins, Founding Member (2009-13)
- Tommy Graven (2011-13)
- Aaron Daley (2012)
- Jarred Johnson (2012)
- David Sams (2012)