Southern’s academic quiz bowl team wins $16,000

The Southern University Academic All-Star Team placed fourth in the 19th Annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship held March 27-31 in Orlando, Fla.
“We hope this victory will help us to gain new members for the team,” said Coach William Moore of the chemistry department.
The team, in its 16th year, was only able to compete in two competitons including the Honda challenge and the New Orleans Invitational.
“We would compete a lot more but because we don’t have as much funds as we would like, the times we compete is very limited,” said Moore
When the team did compete in the Honda Challenge that included 64 historically black colleges that compete in eight-round robin, where two teams face off against each other answering questions ranging from American history to pop culture. The top two teams are taken to create the “sweet 16” teams. Southern’s academic team was able to make it to the “sweet 16” along with other prominent HBCUs like Morehouse and Grambling.
“We were able to make it to the final four where we were beaten by Oakwood College, where we finished fourth,” said Moore
Even with a fourth place finish, the team was able to win $15,000 total. While team captain Brittini Ware was able to win an extra $8,000 for being the top scorer in her division, bringing the teams total to $16,000 in prize money. According to Moore, the team’s winnings cover team expenses for next semester.
“I was able to answer the most toss up or individual questions out of everyone in my division,” said Ware, a psychology major from Baton Rouge.
This year with only five members on the team and three of them graduating this semester, the team’s numbers will dramatically decrease.
“Many people don’t want to join quiz bowl because they think it’s hard, but everything they ask is something that you can study for,” said Ware.
According to Moore, those students who are interested in joining the team will have to compete next fall in the campus tournament held usually in October.
“After competing on the academic team, I have gained a knowledge base that is so much larger, two or three best friends and greater sense of pride.”