Today@Sam Article

SHSU Team Wins First History Challenge Bowl

Feb. 15, 2017
SHSU Media Contact: Lane Fortenberry

Sam Houston State University team coach Brian Domitrovic, right, team members William Bailey, Scarlet Bolivar-Castillo, Chase Miller and other participants competed at the Challenge Bowl on Jan. 28.

Sam Houston State University won the first American History and Western Civilization Challenge Bowl, presented by the American Heritage Education Foundation, on Jan. 28 at the Doubletree-Hilton Hotel at Greenway Plaza in Houston.

The first of annual competitions planned, the Challenge Bowl is modeled after the early radio and television college quiz shows of the 1950s and ‘70s. 

The SHSU team of Scarlet Bolivar-Castillo, Chase Miller and William Bailey, all history majors, earned 644 points to better the 596 points earned by Houston Baptist University.

Sam Houston gained its spot in the finals by besting Texas Southern University in the semifinals on Jan. 27.

“Our team did great,” said Brian Domitrovic, associate professor, history department chair and coach of the SHSU team. “The first part of each match featured each member of the team giving a prepared three-minute speech on American founding principles.”

The teams then participated in two 30-minute question sessions with topics ranging from Aristotle to Rome to U.S. politics.

“It got to a point when we were answering about two-thirds of the trivia questions correctly—a very high rate, which assured us the victory,” Domitrovic said.

Bailey was considered the MVP of the match, according to Jack Kamrath, competition organizer.

“William, along with his teammates Scarlet and Chase, would like to start a Challenge/Quix Bowl team at Sam and have competitions here and on the road,” Domitrovic said. “We will be invited back next year as the inaugural champions of the Houston event, which will expand to eight to 16 teams regionally, and then nationally the year after that.

“We were really happy we won—and won by getting so many questions right.”

SHSU’s team members each received $2,000 scholarship awards.

Judges for the event were Stephen Balch, director of the Institute for the Study of Western Civilization at Texas Tech University, and Robert Koons, professor of philosophy and co-founder of the Western Civilization and American Institutions program at the University of Texas at Austin. John Tyler, program coordinator of legal studies and associate professor of government at HBU, was moderator.

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