There are four major quiz bowl circuits, and these each have various levels of play. USF is active in one way or another in all four. A little about each one:

• College Bowl International (CBI): This is the considered to be the granddaddy of academic competitions. College Bowl is affiliated with the Association of College Unions International (ACUI), of which the Marshall Center is a member. USF appeared on national television in 1970 on the College Bowl TV show, and earned Second Place at the 2003 Regional Championship. There are a few negatives to CBI, however. They have very restrictive rules and very expensive licensing costs, and hardcore players think their questions have too much "fluff." Thus, some other competition circuits have arisen and even surpassed good ol' College Bowl recently.
• National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT): Based in Ann Arbor, MI, NAQT also hosts regional and international tournaments, featuring schools from the US, Canada, and Britain. They have a slightly different set of rules than CBI, their questions are more academic, and they are very willing to work with fledgling clubs and sell them relatively inexpensive questions. They have divisions for high school, junior college, and four-year college players of all levels. USF has appeared at the last two NAQT International Championship tournaments in North Carolina and Los Angeles.
  
• Academic Competion Federation (ACF): the ACF describes itself as "a loosely centralized non-incorporated, non-profit organization dedicated to providing low-cost, high-quality academic quiz tournaments." ACF questions have the most hardcore academic knowledge and the least "trash".  ACF is the ultimate test for anyone who thinks they "know it all."
  
• TRASH: TRASH supposedly stands for "Testing Recall About Strange Happenings". Trash is any sort of question that is NOT academic; e.g., pop culture, pop music, sports, etc. There are several Trash-only tournaments throughout the year. So, if your're good at trivia about the Simpsons and ice hockey, you would like the light-hearted, irreverent style of Trash.  USF's "Beer Bowl" trash tournament every spring has become a popular destination for Trash players around Florida and Georgia.
  

Quiz Bowl at USF hosts intercollegiate tournaments throughout the year. Email Jeremy.Rasmussen_at_gmail.com for more info.

Jeremy Rasmussen, Quiz Bowl Coordinator