Gonzaga University | 502 East Boone Avenue | Spokane, WA 99258-0102 | (800) 986.9585

The Passion
With its clash of wit, words, and wisdom, collegiate debate combines the excitement of competition with the rigors of scholarship. Debate hones communication, analytical, and research skills while deepening knowledge on specific topics in politics, history, economics, law, and philosophy. If you are the type of person driven by an intellectual challenge and the desire to succeed, then we highly encourage you to pursue collegiate academic debate.

The Program
Gonzaga's Debate Program has a long history of excellence in collegiate policy debate. For over 100 years Gonzaga has supported intercollegiate debate as an integral part of Jesuit education. The program distinguishes itself reaching national prominence year after year. The program holds a deep commitment to the highest level of competition. The top debaters at GU travel and compete extensively on the national college circuit.

Over the years, GU Debate has enjoyed enormous success on both the regional and national levels. Gonzaga consistently finishes among the top of the NDT National Varsity Rankings and the Cross Examination Debate Association Rankings. Gonzaga teams have reached elimination rounds at all the major national tournaments including Wake Forest, Harvard, Kentucky, Texas, Berkeley, USC, Fullerton, Northwestern, Kansas, CEDA Nationals, and The NDT. Gonzaga consistently qualifies teams to the NDT through both the first and second round at-large processes as well as through the district qualification process.

The program encourages students to extensively research scholarly publications in order to present interdisciplinary perspectives which appeal to a wide range of audiences. This comprehensive and meticulous preparation coupled with superior training in speaking, cross examination, and critical thinking has been the foundation for the program's success.

As an academic discipline, the program offers course work through Gonzaga's Communication Arts Department. Two courses, Principles of Debate and Argumentation and Debate, are open to students who meet course prerequisites. In addition, student debaters may receive academic credit for ongoing participation in the program.

The Gonzaga Debate Program also provides a number of services to the college forensics community. In September, GU hosts the Jesuit Invitational Debates, the largest college debate tournament in the Northwest and the season opener for the west coast college debate community. In January, focus turns to hosting the Conway Classic, one of the largest and most prestigious high school tournaments in the Northwest. In addition, GU sponsors the Gonzaga Debate Institute (GDI) each summer for high school debaters. The GDI has quickly grown into one of the finest summer institutes in the nation and the largest in the Northwest. In 2005, Gonzaga served as the host institution for the National Debate Tournament (NDT), the national championship tournament of he college community. The top 78 teams came to Spokane to compete in what is being hailed as the "best NDT ever." The final round was between Berkeley and Northwestern University. Northwestern prevailed on a 4-1 decision.

The Potential
Students who debate for GU typically pursue graduate studies and gain admission into prestigious graduate programs and law schools across the country. Gonzaga debaters have received post graduate degrees from such institutions as Boston College, Wake Forest, Berkeley, University of Oregon, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, Pepperdine, Georgetown, Marquette, University of Minnesota and many others. Gonzaga debaters have gone on to become respected political analysts, successful attorneys, Presidents of universities, and even the Speaker of the House in the United States Congress.

The People
The Gonzaga coaching staff has extensive experience both competing and coaching at the highest levels of collegiate debate. The current coaching staff includes:

Glen Frappier, Director of Debate: B. A. in Political Science, Southern Illinois University, 1996. M.S. in Communication Studies, Southern Illinois University, 1998.

Steve Pointer, Assistant Director of Debate: B.A. History, Portland State. 2002.

Jeff Buntin, Assistant Debate Coach: B.A. Politics, Whitman College. 2006.

Izak Dunn, Assistant Debate Coach: B.A. Philosophy, Idaho State University. 2007.  Currently working towards a graduate degree in Philosophy at Gonzaga University.