- :: Debate Home
- :: Henry Clay Debates
- :: Ohio Valley Invitational
- :: Tournament of Champions
- :: Lincoln Douglas Institutes
- :: Policy Institutes
- :: UK Debate Scholarships
- :: Institute Fellows
- :: TOC Advisory Committees
- :: TOC Qualifying Tournaments
- :: Applying to be a TOC Qualifier
- :: Contact Us
- :: JULIA BURKE award
Welcome to UK Intercollegiate Debate Program
A Major Presence on the College and High School Debate Circuits
UK Debate Has a Proven Long-Term Record of Competitive Debate Success
- UK teams have won the National Debate Tournament, The National Novice debate tournament, and have reached final rounds of virtually every major invitational tournament, including Harvard, Dartmouth, Wake Forest, Northwestern, Emory, and West Georgia.
- From 1960 to the present, 60 UK teams have participated at the National Debate Tournament. Twenty-seven have reached elimination rounds, with 21 reaching the octo-finals, 13 the quarter-finals, 7 the semi-finals, and 2 the NDT final round.
- UK has won the coveted Copeland Award for the top first round bid to the National Debate Tournament. UK teams have been second in the Copeland vote 3 other times. Twenty-one UK teams have received first round bids, with 12 teams ranked among the top 8 and 8 teams among the top 4 in the country.
- UK debaters have been named top speaker at the National Debate Tournament on 6 occasions. Twenty-one times UK debaters have been among the top 10 speakers at the NDT.
UK OFFERS A BROAD-BASED PROGRAM, SPONSORING A WIDE RANGE OF HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE EVENTS
- From 1972 to the present, UK has hosted the Kentucky National High School Tournament of Champions. Now offering Policy, Lincoln Douglas, Public Forum, and Student Congress divisions, the TOC is widely recognized as a national championship for high school debate.
- From 1961 to the present, UK has sponsored the Kentucky National Debate Institute for high school debaters. Summer of 2010 will mark the fiftieth occurrence of one of America's oldest debate workshops.
- Starting in 1971, UK has sponsored the Henry Clay Invitational Debate Tournament. It is now one of the oldest and largest college debate tournaments in America.
- Starting in 1972, UK has hosted the University of Kentucky Thoroughbred Round Robin. Its limited 9 team field makes it one of the most prestigious college tournaments of the year.
- UK also sponsors a large regional high school debate tournament, the Ohio Valley Invitational Debates. Its six divisions annually attract several hundred participants.
UK PROVIDES A GENEROUS ARRAY OF DEBATE SCHOLARSHIPS. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN UK COLLEGE DEBATE, YOU MAY CONTACT US IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS:
UK Intercollegiate Debate
225 Funkhouser Building
Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0054
Roger Solt, Co-Director, resolt2@email.uky.edu
Jon Sharp, Co-Director, Hello.Houseplant@gmail.com
http://www.uky.edu/Provost/ChellgrenCenter/Debate/
Office Phone: 859-257-6523
Office Fax: 859-323-1995
General Information: