U of A Speech and Debate Nationally Ranked

Megan Dial

Official team photo of the U of A Speech and Debate Society.

The U of A Speech and Debate Society is proud to announce their rankings from the fall semester of 2022. The team, which competed in four tournaments on the International Public Debate Association's circuit during the fall semester, is currently ranked:

• Sixth in the country for the Scholastic Award (takes into account only points earned by undergraduate students)

• Seventh in the country for the Founders Award (takes into account all points earned by undergraduate students, graduate students and professional competitors)

• Fifth place in the country for Junior Varsity Squad (combines all points earned by students competing in the junior varsity division on the team)

• Eighth place in the country for Novice Squad (combines all points earned by students competing in the novice division on the team)

Further, the team is the current top-ranked team in the state of Arkansas for IPDA and has two top-10 students: Megan Dial, Novice (sophomore) and Luke Hubbard, Junior Varsity (sophomore). Dial notably won the first tournament of the season in the Novice Division, while Hubbard placed second in the Junior Varsity Division at the last tournament in the fall.

The team will next be hosting, and competing in, the Southern Forensics Championship Tournament the weekend of Jan. 27-29. This tournament will see schools attending from across the country, including Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Florida and more.

The team is asking for volunteers to help judge during the weekend; no experience is required in judging. If interested, please contact coach Hannah Morris at hannahm@uark.edu.