Welcome to the Gonzaga University
Debate Program Website. For over 100 years Gonzaga University has
supported academic debate as a cornerstone of a Jesuit education and a
manifestation of the GU mission and over those years Gonzaga has remained a competitive
presence in collegiate college policy debate.
GU Debate strives to promote
a culture
of intellectual inquiry while also embracing the competitive nature of
collegiate debate. Our program is focused on NDT/CEDA
policy format debate. A majority of the team generally has
extensive high school experience in Cross Examination debate
although that is not a requirement for team membership. Over the
years GU Debate has been home to some outstanding debaters who
have set the bar
extremely high in both competitive and academic success. Team alum
routinely attend prestigious graduate
and law schools including Harvard, Georgetown, Yale, Berkeley and many others. Notable alumni of our program
include former Speaker of the House Tom Foley and the former President of
Gonzaga, Father Robert Spitzer, S.J. Our squad size is generally small, usually
not more than 12 debaters. We compete both in our district (NDT
District 2) and on the national NDT circuit. The program consistently ranks
among the most consistent in the nation.
Accomplishments in recent years include multiple elimination round appearances
at both CEDA Nationals and The National Debate Tournament as well as a first
round bid to the NDT in 2011. In addition to an intensive travel schedule
the GU Debate Program also sponsors a number of events to promote academic
policy debate. These include: The Jesuit Invitational Debates (college
tournament), The Conway Classic (high school tournament), and the
Gonzaga Debate
Institute. The GDI, held each summer throughout July, is one of the
largest and most respected summer high school debate institutes in the nation.
In 2005, GU hosted the 59th annual National Debate Tournament
and plans are underway to host again in the next few years. The
coaching staff includes Glen Frappier (Director of Debate), Steve Pointer (Assistant
Director of Debate) Sam Allen (Assistant Coach) and Izak Dunn (Assistant
Coach). Please look around our website and contact us if you have any questions.
