The U of A Speech and Debate Society at the University of Arkansas continues to claim top honors in competition and rankings. The president of the society, Austin Keefe, is currently ranked first in the nation for the Varsity speaking division. The team itself is ranked No. 5 in the nation for its consistent top performances in regional competitions.

National Rankings

The Speech and Debate Society is represented by top-performing students in early reports of national overall rankings, and is proud to announce their placements for the fall semester as of November, including a student currently ranked first place in the country.  

The team itself is currently ranked in the top five in the country, standing in fourth for the Scholastic Award and fifth for the Founders Award.  Other notable team placements include: 

4th Place Novice Squad

10th Place JV Squad

4th Place TIPDA Squad

Nationally top-ranked team members include:

• Percy Blaich, a sophomore majoring in studio art, is currently ranked in the top 10 for the novice division, standing in sixth place after two& quarterfinals finishes and a championship run alongside fellow novice teammate Josh Tompkins

• Austin Keefe, president and a senior in Spanish, political science and criminology, is ranked first place in the country in the Varsity speaking division, which is known as one of the most difficult awards to earn. Past recipients of this award have gone on to Harvard Law School, Tsinghua University in Beijing and Johns Hopkins University for master's and doctoral-level programs. Keefe is also ranked in the top 10 as a varsity debater, coming in at ninth.  

These accomplishments, and those that come next, would not be possible without the support of the team's sponsor, the Diane Blair Center for Southern Politics and Society.  

Ongoing Competition

The Speech and Debate Society traveled this past weekend to Shreveport, Louisiana, to compete in the 50th annual "Red River Classic" hosted by Louisiana State University, Shreveport. Students Austin Keefe, Izzy Swafford, Michael Guzman, Ella Grannon, Aubree Watkins, Will Crews, Percy Blaich, Jace Godfrey, Will Bollinger, Hayden Mittlestat, Sophie Barrentine, Luke Thurmon, Hayden Jescheling and Matthew Cook, and alumni Jaci Sabatini and Jack Van Dyke, traveled to the tournament and earned a total of 28 awards, bringing their season-long total to date up to 58.  

In the TIPDA division, the teams of Keefe/Swafford, Grannon/Guzman and Crews/Watkins all were quarterfinalists. Keefe also earned 3rd place TIPDA speaker, while Swafford earned 2nd place TIPDA speaker. 

In the Novice divison, Bollinger was a double octofinalist after moving on to the next level of competition at his first tournament on the team. Crews was an octofinalist, as well as the 5th place overall speaker. Godfrey and Blaich were quarterfinalists, with Blaich earning 4th place overall speaker. Grannon was the novice division's champion after maintaining a 6-1 record in preliminary competition and continuing on through the next levels of competition as the first seed in that part of the tournament. Included, she earned 2nd place speaker in the division. It was also Grannon's first tournament competing on the team.

In the Junior Varsity division, Mittlestat (new member, first tournament) and Swafford were semifinalists, with one vote each separating them from closing out the tournament as co-champions. 

In the Varsity division, Keefe was a quarterfinalist as well as the division's 3rd place overall speaker. Watkins went on to the semifinals round. 

In the professional division, Cook was a quarterfinalist, marking his first appearance in outround competition. 

LSUS awards the "Pilot Award" to top-performing students that competed in both styles of debate at the tournament. Swafford was awarded 3rd place; Grannon received 2nd place, and Keefe earned the top title as the Overall Pilot Award recipient.

Finally, the team received 2nd in individual competition, 2nd in overall competition and 1st place in the TIPDA competition. 
The team will next compete at the Arkansas Tech University "Argy Bargy" Tournament in two weeks. 

The team would like to continue to thank its sponsor, the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society. This team, and its sponsor, strives to support students and build partnerships across campus with all individuals interested in competing, as well as teach students how to produce quality research through their participation in the program. Through the team's travels, it makes every effort to positively represent the U of A across the American South and beyond.

If you are interested in joining the speech and debate society, please email Coach Hannah Morris (hannahm@uark.edu) or President Austin Keefe (akeefe@uark.edu).