History of National Success

Emory University National Debate Championships

Emory won its first national championship in 1967 when Susan Cahoon, Mark Frankel, Joe Longino, and Bill McDaniel combined to win the Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha (DSR-TKA) national tournament. Since that time, 40 students have won over twenty national team championships or individual champion speaker awards: Novice Nationals five times, American Debate Association four times, Cross Examination Debate Association five times, the National Debate Tournament three times, and top speaker at these tournaments six times.

Year	Championship	Debaters
2011	Rex Copeland Award	Stephen Weil and Ovais Inamullah
2011	Freshman Sophomore Nationals	Megan Cambre and Matthew Pesce
2010	Rex Copeland Award	Stephen Weil and Ovais Inamullah
2010	National Debate Tournament	Stephen Weil (First Individual Speaker)
2008	American Debate Association	Nick Miller and Chipp Schwab
2007	National Debate Tournament	Aimi Hamraie and Julie Hoehn
2004	Cross Examination Debate Association	Michael Beckley and Henry Liu
2004	American Debate Association	Mike Greenstein and Vicki Palomo
2002	American Debate Association	Rania Nasreddine and Scott Phillips
2002	Cross Examination Debate Association	John Rains (First Individual Speaker)
2001	Novice Nationals	Michael Beckley and Henry Liu
2000	National Debate Tournament	Mike Horowitz and Jon Paul Lupo
1999	Cross Examination Debate Association	George Kouros (First Individual Speaker)
1999	Novice Nationals	John Rains and Kurt Kastorf
1998	Rex Copeland Award	George Kouros and Anjan Sahni
1998	Cross Examination Debate Association	Dan Fitzmeier, Stephen Heidt, Vic Tabak and Anne Marie Todd (closed out final round)
1998	Novice Nationals	Stephen Bailey, Kamal Ghali, David Harkin and Joey Tavery
1998	American Debate Association	Kenya Hansford and Anjan Sahni
1997	Novice Nationals	Larry Heftman and Jeff McNabb
1996	National Debate Tournament	David Heidt and Kate Shuster
1995	Novice Nationals	Dan Fitzmeier and Anjan Sahni
1993	Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha	Chris Kellner and Micah Kessler
1993	Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha	Mark Kelsey (First Individual Speaker)
1990	Cross Examination Debate Association	Jeff Smith (First Individual Speaker)
1986	Novice Nationals	Frank Lowrey and Bryant McFall
1982	Novice Nationals	Scott Segal and Mike Weiss
1980	Novice Nationals	Bill Brewster and Reggie Smith
1967	Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha	Susan Cahoon, Mark Frankel, Joe Longino and Bill McDaniel

The National Debate Tournament

The United States Military Academy hosted the first National Debate Tournament immediately after World War II ended. The first tournament featured 29 teams invited at the suggestion of various debate coaches contacted by the cadets at West Point. Now the tournament has over 70 teams who qualify through an elaborate procedure so that only the most skilled debaters even compete at the National Debate Tournament. Rich in tradition, every round at the NDT is still judged by three-judge panels, the preliminary rounds are still announced orally by the tournament director, and it remains among the most prestigious tournament events of the debate season.

Emory University has fared well at the NDT, the name appearing in numerous parts of the record book. Since 1996, ten different debaters have represented Emory in the final round of the tournament, capturing the title three times. While Emory is famous for having lost more octafinal rounds than anyone in the history of the tournament (26), students have also reached the quarterfinals nine times, the semifinals four times, and the finals six times. The appearance of so many teams in the elimination rounds of the National Debate Tournament is a demonstration of the highest effort and intellectual achievement of Emory students.

Year	Place	Debaters
2011	Finalists	Stephen Weil and Ovais Inamullah
2010	Quarterfinalists	Stephen Weil and Ovais Inamullah
2008	Quarterfinalists	Julie Hoehn and Stephen Weil
2007	Champions	Aimi Hamraie and Julie Hoehn
2006	Semifinalists	Cyrus Ghavi and Scott Phillips
2003	Quarterfinalists	Josh Lynn and Scott Phillips
2001	Finalists	Stephen Bailey and Kamal Ghali
2000	Champions	Michael Horowtiz and Jon Paul Lupo
	Semifinalists	Stephen Bailey and Kamal Ghali
1999	Finalists	Stephen Bailey and Kamal Ghali
1998	Finalists	George Kouros and Anjan Sahni
1997	Quarterfinalists	Dan Fitzmeier and Stephen Heidt
	Quarterfinalists	Ronna Landy and Anjan Sahni
1996	Champions	David Heidt and Kate Schuster
1991	Quarterfinalists	Jeffrey Richardson and Darren Summerville
1989	Semifinalists	Frank Lowrey and Gus Puryear
1984	Quarterfinalists	Bill Brewster and Rich Robins
1967	Quarterfinalists	Susan Cahoon and Joe Longino
1966	Quarterfinalists	Susan Cahoon and Joe Longino

Cross Examination Debate Association National Championship

The Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) was formed in 1973. The organization did not sponsor a national championship tournament until 1985. This tournament, unlike the NDT, is an open national championship. The Barkley Forum has attended CEDA Nationals every year since the tournament began and has reached the semifinals three times and won the tournament twice. In the twenty-five year history of the tournament, more than sixty different Emory teams have competed in the elimination rounds. Ten Emory teams have made it to the quarterfinals or better since 1993 at CEDA nationals.

Year	Place	Debaters
2007	Quarterfinalists	Aimi Hamraie and Julie Hoehn
2005	Quarterfinalists	Michael Greenstein and Vicki Palomo
2004	Champions	Michael Beckley and Henry Liu
2002	First speaker	John Rains
2001	Finalists	John Rains and Kacey Wolmer
1999	First speaker	George Kouros
	Quarterfinalists	Russ Falconer and George Kouros
1998	Co-Champions	Dan Fitzmeier, Stephen Heidt, Vic Tabak and Anne Marie Todd
	Quarterfinalists	Michael Horowitz and Jon Paul Lupo
1997	Semifinalists	Dan Fitzmeier and Nessa Horewitch
	Quarterfinalists	Stephen Heidt and Shanara Reid
1993	Quarterfinalists	Chris Kellner and Michah Kessler
1990	First speaker	Jeff Smith