Since 1973, the National Debate Tournament has awarded First Round At-Large Bids to the top sixteen college debate teams in the country; these “first round” teams are not required to compete at their district qualifying tournament. According to the 1973 NDT Book, “Sixteen teams were selected at-large by the National Debate Tournament committee on the basis of outstanding records prior to the District tournaments.” This year’s first round bids were awarded last week. Some interesting facts about this year’s recipients:

• The 32 first-round recipients represent 18 different states. Kansas has the most alums represented with seven followed by Georgia with four, Florida with three, and Illinois, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania with two.
• The 32 first-round recipients hail from 25 different secondary schools. Chattahoochee and Shawnee Mission East each have three alums represented while Cathedral Prep, Caddo Magnet, and Glenbrook North each have two. No other school is represented more than once.
• Twenty-four of the first-round bid recipients are graduates of public schools while the remaining eight attended private schools.
• Only ten of the 32 first-round bid recipients cleared at the Tournament of Champions while they were in high school.

The complete list of this year’s first-round bid recipients as well as the high schools they attended is available below the fold.

The University of California:
James Brockaway (Georgetown Day School—Washington, DC)
Rahul Jaswa (Saratoga High School—Saratoga, CA)

Emory University:
Ovais Inamullah (Chattahoochee High School—Alpharetta, GA)
Stephen Weil (The Westminster Schools—Atlanta, GA)

The University of Georgia:
Brittany Cambre (Chattahoochee High School—Alpharetta, GA)
Mike Lacy (Chattahoochee High School—Alpharetta, GA)

Harvard University:
Eli Jacobs (Centerville High School—Dayton, OH)
Alex Parkinson (Olathe Northwest High School—Olathe, KS)

The University of Kansas:
Sean Kennedy (Shawnee Mission East High School—Shawnee, KS)
Dylan Quigley (Wichita High School East—Wichita, KS)
Patrick Kennedy (Shawnee Mission East High School—Shawnee, KS)
Chris Stone (Derby High School—Derby, KS)

The University of Mary Washington:
Kevin Kallmyer (Our Lady of Good Counsel High School—Olney, MD)
Peter Susko (Cathedral Prep School—Erie, PA)

Michigan State University:
Eric Lanning (The Woodlands High School—The Woodlands, TX)
Carly Wunderlich (Brookfield Central High School—Brookfield, WI)

Missouri State University:
Jordan Foley (Little Rock Central High School—Little Rock, AR)
Mike Kearney (Lee’s Summit High School—Lee’s Summit, MO)

Northwestern University:
Matt Fisher (Glenbrook North High School—Northbrook, IL)
Stephanie Spies (Glenbrook North High School—Northbrook, IL)

The University of Oklahoma:
R.J. Giglio (Caddo Magnet High School—Shreveport, LA)
Nick Watts (Heritage Hall School—Heritage Hall, OK)

The University of Texas at Dallas:
Andrew Baker (Shawnee Mission West High School—Overland Park, KS)
Brian Rubaie (Shawnee Mission East High School—Shawnee, KS)

Wake Forest University:
Mike Carlotti (Cathedral Prep School—Erie, PA)
Carlos Maza (Christopher Columbus High School—Miami, FL)
Sam Crichton (Caddo Magnet High School—Shreveport, LA)
Will Sears (Lexington High School—Lexington, MA)

The University of West Georgia:
Tyler Boykin (Fort Lauderdale High School—Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Jim Schultz (Jupiter High School—Jupiter, FL)

Whitman College:
Nate Cohn (Auburn High School—Auburn, WA)
Daniel Straus (Yorktown High School—Arlington, VA)