1997 PAC
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| Champion | Klein | |
| Runner-up | Maryland All-Stars | |
| Third | Rufus King | |
| Fourth | Dunbar | |
| Fifth | Minnesota All-Stars | |
| Sixth | State College | |
| All-America Team | -- | |
| Samir Dalvi, Auburn | Stephen Gallo, Buena | |
| Tennyson Liu, State College | Gautum Mukunda, Montgomery Blair | |
| David Tice, Grand Junction | Mike Wehrman, North Kansas City | |
46 teams participated. The champion Klein team was the seventh and, as of 2007, last non-all-star team to win the tournament.
A team from North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics saw four members stranded on the way from the amusement park portion of Disney World to the competition hotel due to a flat tire on the bus; two team members were forced to play the game by themselves or forfeit. They proceeded to win their preliminary game.
Third place team members received $500 scholarships and gold rings.
Survey
As in several previous PACs, the participants were surveyed on current issues. This led to the amusing headline "America's Brightest Teens Support Death Penalty For McVeigh." 75% of the students though advertising promoted the use of cigarettes by minors, but a majority said that tobacco companies should not be legally responsible for smoking-related illnesses. 67% thought sitting Presidents should be vulnerable to arrest or lawsuits, and an equal number found the Clinton administration more unethical than its predecessors. A majority was in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage.
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