November 12, 2015
MARSHALL, Texas (11/11/15) - The East Texas Baptist University Debate Team will host the fourth annual Tiger Invitational Debate Tournament, Nov. 13-14. The team will welcome as many as 150 college debaters and their coaches to the campus for the weekend competition. Participants from colleges and universities in a six-state region will make up the field of competition, with the possibility of more.
"We typically compete against public and private universities from states such as Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi," said Dr. Cole Franklin, professor of Communication Studies and coach of the ETBU debate team. "However, it is possible we could have teams coming from as far away as Ohio, Georgia, Utah, or Oregon. We won't really know how many teams we will have until early in the week of the event."
The tournament will consist of seven preliminary debate rounds followed by elimination rounds that will follow a typical tournament seeding and elimination process. Individual debaters will compete in four different divisions of debate: Novice, Junior Varsity, Varsity, and Professional. The event will take place in buildings all across campus, but will be headquartered in Scarborough Hall in the offices of the Department of Communication Studies. The event is open to the public and begins on the afternoon of Nov. 13 and concludes in the evening on Nov. 14, is open to the public.
"Anyone who would like to come by and watch a round or two is welcome," Dr. Franklin said. "These competitors are bright and articulate and will develop well-reasoned arguments on topics ranging from the impacts of the presidential primaries to the economy to which teams are most likely to play in the Super Bowl. We are excited to continue the tradition of the Tiger Invitational Debate Tournament at ETBU."
For more information on the 2015 Tiger Invitational Debate Tournament or the ETBU debate team, contact Franklin at 903.923.2288 or email cfranklin@etbu.edu