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The debate team at the University of Arkansas
at Monticello has earned the right to called
national champions.
UAM DEBATERS SWEPT THE
Scholastic, Founders and Overall Sweepstakes
Awards at the 2015-16 International
Public Debate Association (IPDA)
National Tournament hosted March 31
through April 3 by Lee College of Baytown,
Tex. The event drew more than 450
competitors from some of the top college
and university debate programs in the
nation, including Southern Methodist
University, the University of Tennessee,
Louisiana State University, the University
of Southern Mississippi, Boise State
University, the U.S. Military Academy,
Colorado Christian University, Seattle
Pacific University, Florida International
University and Oregon State University.
“This is an incredible honor for our
team and for the university,” said Jim Evans,
UAM debate coach and instructor of communication.
“Our students went against
the best competition in the country and
proved they can compete with anyone.
Honestly, they surprised me a little with
how dominant they were.”
The IPDA national championship
is UAM’s second, and the first since the
2007-08 academic year. UAM debaters
posted a winning percentage of 71 percent
with 79 percent advancing past the
preliminary rounds.
The competition included eight preliminary
rounds in four divisions – novice,
junior varsity, varsity and professional, as
well as four preliminary rounds in team
competition. Awards were presented
based on both national tournament performances
and season-long competition.
In addition to winning all three national
tournament sweepstakes competitions,
UAM debaters won five individual national
championships. Reagan Dobbs, a
junior political science major from Dayton,
Tex., was the national champion speaker in
varsity debate at the national tournament
in a field of 109 competitors. Cody Bijou,
a junior communications and political
science double major from Crosby, Tex.,
bested 381 competitors to capture the
national championship as the top debater
in the varsity division in season-long competition.
Gabrielle Swain of Monticello,
a senior communications major, was the
season-long novice debate national champion
in a field of 493 competitors. In the
professional division, Chris Brown, an assistant
debate coach and debate instructor,
captured a pair of national championships
as the top season-long speaker and debater.
UAM also won season-long team national
championships in novice debate and varsity
debate.
Other individual award winners at the
national tournament were:
• Jacob Chisom, a junior history and
communications double major from Monticello,
who was the seventh place debate
speaker in team debate, and teamed with
Swain to reach the quarterfinals in the
team debate competition;
14 UAM Magazine