> > Furthermore, due to certain university
> > regulations, we cannot get the student organization funds to pay
> > for a buzzer set - and apparently they're quite costly... is
there
> > another way of obtaining buzzers for practice?
Sometimes colleges have non-organization-related trivia bowls for
other events (e.g. a trivia game on alcohol during an alcohol
awareness week, or a game of UCSD trivia during a Spirit Week kind of
thing), in which case you might be able to borrow a buzzer system
that's already owned by the student union or a campus life board.
Otherwise, fundraise, fundraise, fundraise. Sell food, work at the
university concession stands, or, if you get desperate, auction off
dates with the team members (or not). As already said, you can watch
this messageboard for tournament announcements, or get in touch with
another local team and ask which tournaments they're planning on
attending. For a new team, "junior bird" and "no packet submission"
are probably the words for which you want to be looking. Also, don't
forget to actively recruit for your team with flyers and organization
fairs on campus.