The 2001 ACIU college bowl has arrived at UCSD. The annual event challenges students with a knack for trivia to sign up within their college.
The individual colleges’ bowls take place this week and next week. The top two teams from each college will compete in the university-wide event Jan. 31 in the Price Center Theater.
The winning team will then represent UCSD at the ACIU regional College Bowl tournament at Sacramento State Feb. 16 to Feb. 18. The state winner will then try for the national title.
Contestants in the tournaments are asked questions from all realms of academia. Teams must be prepared to grapple with all areas, from the sciences and humanities to sports and entertainment.
Patricia Mahaffey, Muir’s assistant resident dean, enjoys the university’s celebration of the mind.
“”College Bowl is an event I look forward to every year, she said “”The best and the brightest come out.””
Mahaffey also noted that many students come to watch both the individual college tournaments and the all-campus tournament.
Although the Muir event was held on Wednesday night, there is still time to sign up to compete at the other colleges.
Revelle college will hold its event Thursday.
Warren and Marshall colleges are accepting sign-ups in their dean’s offices. Roosevelt students can sign up in the Residential Life office. The Warren event will be held Jan. 22, followed by Marshall college’s the next day.
Finally, Roosevelt will meet for its college bowl Jan. 24. Sign-ups are accepted individually or as a team. Teams consist of four members with an optional alternate. There is no cost to enter.
UCSD marketing coordinator and College Bowl overseer Matt Xavier is expecting everyone to have a great time with the tournament.
“”The College Bowl is a lot of fun,”” Xavier said. “”It tests people’s intelligence and their ability to think quickly. You can really learn a lot. There is so much info. about art, science and history.””
Xavier predicts that several hundred students and faculty will attend the All-Campus bowl on Jan. 31.
Free pizza, cookies and beverages will be provided to those in attendance.
Winners of the separate colleges’ tournaments will receive free T-shirts and the winner of the all-campus tournament will be awarded a sweatshirt.
The College Bowl seeks to maintain high levels of integrity. Questions are mailed to the college dean’s office the afternoon preceding the match. The questions come in 10 sealed envelopes that are not opened until the commencement of the event.
The format of the Bowl game is similar to that of many academic competitions. The game begins with a general toss-up question open to response from both teams. The first player to buzz in gets to attempt to answer. If the player answers correctly, his or her team will be given a bonus question that only their team can answer.
After the bonus question, another toss-up question is asked.
Stanford University and the University of Southern California are consistent champions at the statewide regional event. These private schools actually offer courses aimed to prepare students for this event.
UCSD teams are largely student run, not professionally coached like teams of some other universities.
However, UCSD has managed to perform with great deal of success. Last year, a group from Revelle college came in third place in the regional contest.
The five colleges, the University Centers, the Vice Chancellor’s Office of Student Affairs, and Imprints are all sponsors of the College Bowl.