Robert Meredith
Encyclopedia
Robert L. Meredith was a professor and innovator in the domain of quizbowl
. While an assistant professor of English at the Georgia Institute of Technology
, he became coach of their College Bowl
team in 1980. Meredith instituted "The System", a program that Georgia Tech, and later other successful quizbowl programs, followed to develop players. A key element of the System was requiring team members to produce questions on a regular basis for practice. Meredith retired from coaching in 1989.
Meredith innovated the now standard match format of untimed games of twenty ten point toss-up questions with thirty point bonuses, with all questions on academic material, thus making him a forefather of the Academic Competition Federation
. It is for primarily this reason the ACF national championship trophy is named the Meredith Cup
in his honor. Doc Meredith coached Tech to three non-College Bowl
, pre-ACF, national championships in the 1980s. Meredith's greatest campaign was his last in 1988-89, when Georgia Tech's 1st and 2nd teams placed first and second, respectively, at the All-American Academic Championship at the University of Tennessee
.
Under Meredith's tutelage a number dominant players competed for Georgia Tech, including Chris Moody, Albert Whited, Norman Kreutter, Jim Dendy, Scott Gillispie, Steve Taylor, Robert Forsythe, and David Levinson. While a student, Meredith was chosen to represent the University of Kansas
(Lawrence) in the College Bowl Radio Competition in 1967. Due to scheduling changes, the Kansas squad was bumped from the competition that year and Meredith never got the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level.
Quizbowl
Quiz bowl is a family of games of questions and answers on all topics of human knowledge that is commonly played by students enrolled in high school or college, although some participants begin in middle or even elementary school...
. While an assistant professor of English at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, he became coach of their College Bowl
College Bowl
College Bowl was a format of college-level quizbowl run and operated by College Bowl Company, Incorporated. It had a format similar to the current NAQT format. College Bowl first aired on US radio stations in 1953, and aired on US television from 1959 to 1970...
team in 1980. Meredith instituted "The System", a program that Georgia Tech, and later other successful quizbowl programs, followed to develop players. A key element of the System was requiring team members to produce questions on a regular basis for practice. Meredith retired from coaching in 1989.
Meredith innovated the now standard match format of untimed games of twenty ten point toss-up questions with thirty point bonuses, with all questions on academic material, thus making him a forefather of the Academic Competition Federation
Academic Competition Federation
ACF is one of the major formats of collegiate quizbowl. The name refers to two related things:*The actual organization, founded as the Academic Competition Foundation in 1991, which changed its name to the Academic Competition Federation in 1997 and presently continues to run a national...
. It is for primarily this reason the ACF national championship trophy is named the Meredith Cup
Meredith Cup
The Robert Meredith Cup is awarded to the winner of the Academic Competition Federation quizbowl championship since 2001. Predecessor tournaments include the National Invitational Tournament held in the early 1980s and the All-American Invitational Tournament held in the late 1990s...
in his honor. Doc Meredith coached Tech to three non-College Bowl
College Bowl
College Bowl was a format of college-level quizbowl run and operated by College Bowl Company, Incorporated. It had a format similar to the current NAQT format. College Bowl first aired on US radio stations in 1953, and aired on US television from 1959 to 1970...
, pre-ACF, national championships in the 1980s. Meredith's greatest campaign was his last in 1988-89, when Georgia Tech's 1st and 2nd teams placed first and second, respectively, at the All-American Academic Championship at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
.
Under Meredith's tutelage a number dominant players competed for Georgia Tech, including Chris Moody, Albert Whited, Norman Kreutter, Jim Dendy, Scott Gillispie, Steve Taylor, Robert Forsythe, and David Levinson. While a student, Meredith was chosen to represent the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
(Lawrence) in the College Bowl Radio Competition in 1967. Due to scheduling changes, the Kansas squad was bumped from the competition that year and Meredith never got the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level.