Tom Durbin

Tom Durbin is the former coach at MacArthur High School in Decatur, Illinois.

Durbin founded the school's team in 1985, and coached into the 21st century. The team reached its height in the 1990s when Durbin's MacArthur teams qualified for the IHSA state tournament 8 times in the decade (1991-1996 and 1998-1999). Over that run, MacArthur finished 3rd twice (1993 and 1998) and was State Runner-Up twice (1996 and 1999) - all in an era of dicey question quality and single elimination.

Durbin had his team playing constantly, and with a lack of serious competition in the immediate area, Durbin was constantly taking his team on the road in an era when few teams traveled more than a few miles for a match. In 1992 and 1993, Durbin's teams ended the season with records of 123-10 and 119-7. In fact, it is largely believed that it was MacArthur's prodigious play (and winning) that a pair of local principals eventually proposed the season limitation rule that Illinois quizbowl teams are stilled forced to follow. Excluding 1997, Durbin's coaching record from 1991-99 was an impressive 701-103.

Because Decatur is generally a poor community, Durbin never had the advantages of money that many suburban coaches had,and he spent a great deal of time scrounging for money to keep the programs going. In a district that often didn't have a great deal of support for intellectual pursuits, Durbin often spent his own money to provide for his team. His classroom was a combination walk-in trophy room and library of questions that spanned two decades of Illinois quizbowl.

As the 1990s passed, money became tighter in Decatur, and with season limitations, it became harder for the team to function. Durbin did have one last great run in the early 2000's, largely thanks to Donald Taylor, his last great player leading the team to its (to date) final state tournament appearance in 2004. MacArthur's slide from the elite was aided by the rise of Carbondale's rise to elite status over the next decade.

Though it is not known when it occurred, Durbin was (along with Beth Young of Quincy) one of the first two coaches to reach the 1,000 career victory milestone in Illinois.

As late as 2005, Durbin would occasionally moderate tournaments when his team was unable to make it.

The victories aside, Durbin was a highly respected coach in the Illinois quizbowl community. In 2005, Durbin was a member of the first induction class of the IHSSBCA Hall of Fame.