Contact: Michael Eber, MSU director of debate, (517) 432-9667 or (517) 214-6435, debate@msu.edu; Ron Fisher, Honors College, (517) 355-2326; or Kristin K. Anderson, University Relations, (517) 353-8819, ander284@msu.edu
4/8/2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. � Michigan State University has argued its way to the top.
The team of Greta Stahl, an international relations and history senior from Shelby Township, and Dave Strauss, an international relations senior from East Lansing, defeated the top-ranked team from the University of California-Berkeley to win the National Debate Tournament held April 2-6 at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
�Winning the 58th National Debate Tournament is the single greatest and most significant accomplishment in the entire history of the MSU debate program,� said program director Michael Eber. �Debate is the premier undergraduate academic competition in the entire world, and first place at the NDT is the ultimate prize of intercollegiate debate.�
This is the first time MSU has won this particular debate championship; having been in the �Final Four� six previous times. MSU won the Cross Examination Debate Association National Tournament in 1995 and Seasonal National Championship Awards in 1996 and 2002.
The National Debate Tournament is �analogous to golf�s Masters Championship because only the very best 78 teams in the nation are invited to attend,� Eber said.
�Every prominent debate team in the nation focuses their intellectual energies on success at the NDT, often saving their very best strategies and arguments for these most important rounds of the year,� he added.
MSU was already recognized as one of the very best debate teams in the nation, Eber said. The MSU team of Stahl and Strauss, both seniors in James Madison College and members of the Honors College, was awarded the second-place national ranking for the 2003-04 season; and the MSU team of Aaron Hardy, an interdisciplinary arts and humanities junior and member of the Honors College from Logan, Utah, and Shaun VanHorn, a biology major from Shelby Township, was awarded the 15th place national ranking.
�Dave and Greta confirmed that they are the best team in the country. Aaron and Shaun also had a tremendous showing. It really was a team effort,� said Will Repko, head coach of the MSU debate team. �I couldn�t be any prouder of Dave and Greta. Their poise, skill, work ethic and motivation to succeed epitomize all the reasons I love debate.�
The win ensures that MSU will once again display a national championship trophy. This time, it will be the MSU debate team that will have its name inscribed on the shiny symbol of success.
MSU is now the home of the Sigurd S. Larmon Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the NDT champions. The trophy is a large silver piece that has every winner of the NDT engraved on it. Because of its age and value, the Larmon even has its own custom designed container to keep it safe when in transit. It will stay in East Lansing until the 2005 National Debate Tournament.
�MSU is now the reigning national debate champion, and all Spartans should be proud,� Eber said. �We could not have done this without the continued support of the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, the MSU Honors College, and the alumni and friends of the MSU Debate Team.�
For additional information, visit the Web at http://debate.msu.edu
###
Tournament chronology:
- Stahl and Strauss won seven of their eight preliminary debates, making them the second overall seed going into elimination debates. Hardy and VanHorn won six of their eight preliminary debates, making them the 19th overall seed going into elimination debates. Stahl and Strauss received a bye through the round of 32 while Hardy and VanHorn defeated a team from Northwestern University on a unanimous 5-0 decision.
- In the �Sweet Sixteen,� Strauss and Stahl defeated a team from the University of Texas at Austin on a unanimous 5-0 decision. Hardy and Van Horn debated the University of North Texas before a seven-judge panel, and won on a 4-3 decision.
- In the �Elite Eight,� Stahl and Strauss debated California State University-Fullerton and again won on a 5-0 decision. Hardy and VanHorn were up against Harvard University�s top team and won on another 5-0 decision for MSU. In college debate, two teams from the same school never debate against on another, so when Strauss and Stahl were in the �Final Four� as the #2 seed, and Hardy and Van Horn were in the �Final Four� as the #3 seed that they had taken over from North Texas, MSU closed out one side of the bracket.
- The final round: Stahl and Strauss meet the team from Berkeley: 45 minutes after the debate had ended, all five judges had reached a decision (each judge evaluates the debate privately and casts a secret ballot that no one sees until all five judges are finished) and it was a 4-1 decision for MSU.
- At the 2004 NDT, Michigan State had head-to-head wins over teams from the following schools: California State University at Fullerton (2), Dartmouth College, Georgetown University, Gonzaga University, Harvard University (2), Northwestern University, Pepperdine University, Redlands University, United States Military Academy, University of California-Berkeley (3), University of Kansas, University of North Texas, University of Puget Sound, University of Texas at Austin (2), and Whitman College.