Minnesota Knowledge Bowl
Knowledge Bowl is a quizbowl activity in the state of Minnesota. It is governed by the Minnesota Service Cooperatives. The State Meet is held in April at Cragun's Resort in Brainerd.
Format
The 48 teams that qualify for the Minnesota State Knowledge Bowl Meet are ordered by enrollment size and then are evenly divided, with the larger 24 schools in Class AA, and the smaller 24 schools in Class A. All schools from the Metro Region (Region XI) are automatically placed in Class AA. If one private school qualifies, it is automatically placed in Class AA, regardless of size. If two private schools qualify, the larger is placed in Class AA, and the smaller in Class A. If three private schools qualify, the larger two are placed in Class AA, and the smallest is placed in Class A, and so on.
The first day of the State Knowledge Bowl Meet begins in the evening with a banquet, at which all the teams are introduced. Following the banquet is the written round which consists of 60 questions. Once the written rounds are scored, the teams are ranked. In the event of a tie after the written round, certain questions will be used to break the tie. The state meet is "power-ranked," that is, teams are grouped together by their current standing as follows:
- Room 1: #1-2-3
- Room 2: #4-5-6
- Room 3: #7-8-9
- Room 4: #10-11-12
- Room 5: #13-14-15
- Room 6: #16-17-18
- Room 7: #19-20-21
- Room 8: #22-23-24
Teams are power ranked for five, 45-question oral rounds. At then end, the team with the highest total score is the State Champion. The top 3 teams receive trophies, and the top 6 teams receive medals. If there is a tie among the top 6 following the fifth and final oral round, it is broken by a 15-question "overtime." The Heritage Spirit Award is given to one team from each class that demonstrates a positive attitude and sportsmanship as voted on by the readers, computer operators, coaches, and other teams.
Historical Format
In 2007, the State Tournament began using strength-of-scoring, or "SOS". After the last oral rounds, teams receive receive 1.5 extra points for each round they have competed in the top room, 1 extra point for each round in the second room, and 0.5 extra points for each round in the third room. This was done both to help break ties and to recognize that scoring points is harder in top rooms.
Prior to 2000, there was a "championship round," in which the top three teams (after five oral rounds) competed head-to-head to determine who would be champion. This is similar to the "Governor's Cup" round in Colorado.
Until 1996, all schools competed in a single class at the state meet. From 1996 onward the state meet has featured two classes that are determined by school size.
Regarding how the State Tournament ended up in the Brainerd resort area, former Metro ECSU Knowledge Bowl coordinator Marilyn McGowan said: "It all hinges on a measles outbreak in Thief River Falls the year the tournament was to be held there and the state health department said we would have to cancel our plans to have it there. Thus, at the last minute, it was moved to Cragun's. The original plan was to have each ECSU region host it with it being held throughout the state. However, it worked so well holding it in a resort without the temptations of a city, that it has been held at a Brainerd lakes resort ever since the episode with the measles outbreak. We have also been at Madden's and Breezy Point."
The 1984 tournament had five oral rounds like today's, but in 1986 and 1987 only four oral rounds were played (in addition to the written round and championship round). In 1991 and before, oral rounds consisted of 60 questions. In 1992 the change was made to 45 questions per round.
In 2013, only four oral rounds were used. Due to inclement weather across the state, the Friday schedule was moved back by a couple of hours to allow for late arrivals; the fifth oral round was eliminated to keep the meet more on schedule. It should be noted that this weather caused some schools to not be able to attend at all. Only 21 AA teams attended, instead of the usual 24.
Past State Champions and Runners-up
Blanks indicate incomplete records. A second score by a team name indicates score in championship round (through 1999) or score in tiebreaker round (2000 and after).
| Year/Tier | First Place | Second Place | Third Place | Fourth Place | Fifth Place | Sixth Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Fergus Falls | Duluth Cathedral | ||||
| 1983 | Fergus Falls | Duluth Cathedral | ||||
| 1984 | Fergus Falls (171) | Hibbing II (157) | Brainerd (151) | Moorhead (151) | Maynard (146) | Princeton (145) |
| 1985 | Fergus Falls (__) | Hibbing (__) | ||||
| 1986 | Little Falls (132, 17) | Moorhead 1 (136, 15) | Apple Valley (122, 13) | Melrose (122) | Chaska (120) | Cambridge (116) |
| 1987 | Duluth Cathedral (136, __) | Rosemount/Apple Valley (129, __) | Perham (123, __) | Atwater/Grove City (119) | International Falls (118) | Duluth East (116) |
| 1988 | Moorhead (__) | Elk River (__) | Motley (__) | |||
| 1989 | Northfield (__) | Moorhead (__) | Sebeka (__) | |||
| 1990 | Greenbush (__) | Moorhead (__) | Northfield (__) | |||
| 1991 | Bemidji (137, __) | Moorhead (147, __) | St. Cloud Apollo (138, __) | Staples/Motley (132) | Fergus Falls (129) | New London/Spicer (128) |
| 1992 | Chaska 1 (122, 22) | Duluth East (126, 11) | Centennial (122, 5) | Chaska 2 (121) | MACCRAY (118) | Jefferson (Alexandria, MN) (117) |
| 1993 | Chaska Purple (124, 16) | Chaska Gold (122, 12) | Moorhead Orange (128, 6) | Moorhead Black (119) | Jefferson (118) | St. John's Prep (117) |
| 1994 | Moorhead Black (114, __) | Chaska (114, __) | MACCRAY (117, __) | Fairmont (111) | Perham (109) | St. Thomas Academy (107) |
| 1995 | Chaska (129, __) | Hibbing (117, __) | Cannon Falls (121, __) | Blake (115) | Fairmont (115) | St. Thomas Academy (115) |
| 1996 A | Grygla (115, 19) | Sartell (115, 11) | Fisher (115, 8) | Litchfield (114) | Murray County Central (109) | Cannon Falls (107) |
| 1996 AA | Hibbing (124, 19) | Chaska Gold (126, 11) | St. Cloud Tech (120, 10) | Blake (114) | Northfield (112) | Cretin-Derham Hall (111) |
| 1997 A | Morris (123, __) | Murray County Central (114, __) | St. Cloud Cathedral (109, __) | Win-E-Mac (104) | Duluth Marshall (103) | Albany (102) |
| 1997 AA | Chaska (113, 12) | Centennial (113, 10) | Willmar (112, 9) | Moorhead (112) | Hibbing (107) | St. Cloud Tech 1 (107) |
| 1998 A | Murray County Central (112, 22) | Becker (115, __) | Fosston (113, __) | Cannon Falls (112) | Montevideo (110) | Grygla (16) |
| 1998 AA | Cretin-Derham Hall (119, __) | Hibbing(114, __) | Chaska (113, __) | Centennial (113) | Little Falls (112) | Brainerd (111) |
| 1999 A | Moose Lake (104, __) | Grygla (119, __) | Redwood Valley (108, __) | Ortonville (103) | Loyola (MN High School) (102) | Duluth Marshall (102) |
| 1999 AA | Cretin-Derham Hall White (119, 15) | Chaska (115, 13) | St. Cloud Tech (123, 11) | Hibbing Green (114) | Eagan (110) | Cretin-Derham Hall Blue (110) |
| 2000 A | Moose Lake (111) | Redwood Valley (110) | St. John's Prep (107) | Minnesota Valley Lutheran (102) | NRHEG (94) | Chisholm (93) |
| 2000 AA | St. Cloud Tech (121) | Blake (115) | Chaska (114) | Hibbing (113) | Cretin-Derham Hall (109) | Hastings (MN) (108) |
| 2001 A | NRHEG (133) | Redwood Area (121) | St. John's Prep (121) | St. Louis County (119) | Moose Lake (117) | Minnesota Valley Lutheran (117) |
| 2001 AA | Hibbing Tan (151) | St. Thomas Academy (124) | Chaska Purple (120) | Moorhead Red (119) | Bemidji (117) | Buffalo (MN) (117) |
| 2002 A | Cook (112) | Springfield (110) | Osakis (110) | Pelican Rapids (108) | Becker (105) | Moose Lake (104) |
| 2002 AA | St. Thomas Academy (132) | Moorhead (126) | Chaska (121) | Hibbing Blue (120) | Rocori Area (113) | Apple Valley (113) |
| 2003 A | Springfield (116) | Blackduck (106) | Park Christian (Moorhead) (103) | Moose Lake (102) | Cook (St. Louis County) (102) | Lake Park Audubon (100) |
| 2003 AA | Chaska (120) | Moorhead (113) | Rochester Mayo (110) | Bemidji (110) | St. Thomas Academy (107) | Northfield (106) |
| 2004 A | Park Christian (Moorhead) (115) | East Grand Forks (105) | Windom (105) | Lac qui Parle Valley (104) | Pequot Lakes (100) | Blackduck (99) |
| 2004 AA | St. Anthony Village (114) | Mahtomedi (113) | St. Thomas Academy (112) | Chaska (112) | Moorhead White (111) | Hibbing (108) |
| 2005 A | East Grand Forks (111) | Win-E-Mac (110) | Montevideo (107) | Lac qui Parle Valley (106) | Blue Earth (98, 5) | Fairmont (98, 3) |
| 2005 AA | St. Thomas Academy (122) | Chaska Purple (113) | St. Anthony Village (112) | Moorhead Orange (107) | Buffalo (MN) (107) | Hermantown (103) |
| 2006 A | St. John's Prep (114) | Redwood Area Black (110) | Lake Park-Audubon (103) | Staples-Motley (102) | Dover-Eyota (101) | Roseau (101) |
| 2006 AA | St. Anthony Village (123) | Chaska (121) | Buffalo (118) | St. Thomas Academy (117) | Eden Prairie (114) | Moorhead Gold (112) |
| 2007 A | Glencoe-Silver Lake (139.5) | Morris (123) | Minnesota Valley Lutheran (119.5) | Lake Park Audubon (119) | St. John's Prep (114) | Lac qui Parle Valley (112.5) |
| 2007 AA | St. Anthony Village (146.5) | Eden Prairie (130) | Moorhead (128) | St. Thomas Academy/Visitation (128) | Chaska (122.5) | Prior Lake (121.5) |
| 2008 A | St. John's Prep (121.5) | Lac qui Parle Valley (118.5) | Sebeka (109.5) | Houston (109) | Redwood Area (108) | Dover-Eyota (106) |
| 2008 AA | Eden Prairie (130) | Prior Lake-Savage (129.5) | Simley (119.5) | St. Anthony Village (118.5) | Minnesota Valley Lutheran (116.5) | Chaska (116) |
| 2009 A | Loyola Catholic (MN) (120) | Redwood Area (115) | St. John's Prep (113.5) | Montevideo (111) | Sebeka (109.5) | Rushford-Peterson (107.5) |
| 2009 AA | Chaska (142.5) | Rochester Mayo (119.5) | Prior Lake-Savage (117) | St. Anthony Village-Helen (116) | Glencoe-Silver Lake (115.5) | Simley (114) |
| 2010 A | Sebeka (162.5) | Crookston (116.5) | Sibley East (112, 5) | New London-Spicer (112, 4) | Duluth Marshall (112, 1) | Albany (111.5) |
| 2010 AA | St. Anthony (131.5) | Little Falls (128) | St. Thomas Academy (125) | Holy Family Catholic (MN) (119.5) | Chaska (118) | Prior Lake (116) |
| 2011 A | Sebeka (146.5) | International Falls Purple (117.5) | Crookston (115) | St. John's Prep (112) | Zimmerman (107) | Minnesota Valley Lutheran (106.5) |
| 2011 AA | St. Anthony (137.5) | Chaska (130) | Fergus Falls (126.5) | Moorhead (118) | Rochester Mayo (117) | Bemidji (116.5) |
| 2012 A | St. John's Prep (141.5) | Minnesota Valley Lutheran (120.5) | Pelican Rapids (113.5) | Windom (110.5) | Cloquet (107.5) | Breckenridge (104.5) |
| 2012 AA | Chaska Red (130.5) | Academy of Holy Angels (123) | Rochester (117) | Spring Lake Park (114) | Chaska White (113) | Moorhead Orange (112.5, 6) |
| 2013 A | Glencoe-Silver Lake (115) | St. John's Prep (107) | Bagley (102) | Crookston (97.5) | Albany (97) | Pelican Rapids (96) |
| 2013 AA | Spring Lake Park (121.5) | Chaska (119) | Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose (108.5) | Chanhassen (107.5) | Sartell (106.5) | St. Cloud Tech (103) |