WCTE Academic Bowl

The WCTE Academic Bowl, formerly known as the Upper-Cumberland Academic Bowl, is a televised Quizbowl tournament held by WCTE, the channel 22 Tennessee Upper-Cumberland affiliate of PBS. The tournament has been running since 1986 and is among the oldest tournaments still held in Tennessee, if not the oldest entirely. The WCTE Academic Bowl is not to be confused with East Tennessee PBS Scholar's Bowl. Since its inception, the tournament has usually been held at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee, but has also been held at alternative locations such as Algood City Hall. Participants are geographically restricted to the Upper-Cumberland area of Tennessee. The tournament’s current primary moderators are Brian O’Connor (who began his tenure circa 2006) and Molly Risley. Records of the WCTE Academic Bowl before 2013 are incomplete, if not missing entirely.

In 2024, the first iteration of the WCTE Middle School Academic Bowl was held, also at Tennessee Tech. It was moderated by former Cookeville coach Molly Risley.

Format

Different formats and rulesets have been used throughout the history of the Academic Bowl. From (at least) 2013, WCTE consisted of two eight-minute halves separated by a ten-question lightning round. For 2023 only the lightning round was eliminated, but all other rules remained the same. The tossups have always had no powers or negs and are very commonly recycled from previous years' tournaments. The Academic Bowl has used both double and single-elimination formats in different years. Brackets used to made according to the standings of the previous year's tournament, but in recent years a bigger effort has been put into accurately seeding teams. The 2021 and 2022 versions of the tournament were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A playlist featuring many of the High School games can be found here: WCTE Academic Bowl. Likewise, a playlist featuring many of the Middle School games can be found here: Middle School WCTE Academic Bowl.

High School Results

Year	Winner	Runner-Up	Score
2025	Beech	Cookeville	360-310
2024	Gallatin	Cookeville	315-235
2023 (Fall)	Cookeville	Gallatin	365-190
2023 (Spring)	Cookeville	Gallatin	135-110
2022	None
2021	None
2020	Gallatin	Scott	450-150
2019	Gallatin	Cookeville	430-220
2018	Cookeville	Gallatin	420-170
2017	Cookeville	Gallatin	370-175
2016	Gallatin	Cookeville	330-220
2015	Cookeville	Gallatin	Unknown
2014	White County	Gallatin	320-300
2013	Cookeville	Gallatin	370-150
2012	Cookeville	York	Unknown
2003	Cookeville	Unknown	Unknown
2002	Cookeville	Warren County	Unknown
2001	Cookeville	Unknown	Unknown
2000	Cookeville	Unknown	Unknown
1999	Cookeville	Unknown	Unknown
1998	Cookeville	Bledsoe County	Unknown
1997	Cookeville	Unknown	Unknown
1996	Cookeville	DeKalb County	Unknown

Middle School Results

Year	Winner	Runner-Up	Score
2024	Upperman	Portland West	340-270