News release Public Information Office  SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu summer 05 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 10/20/05   SOUTHEASTERN PHI KAPPA PHI PITS FACULTY AGAINST STUDENTS IN ANNUAL HOMECOMING QUIZ BOWL FUN        HAMMOND  -- In the four years since it debuted, the quiz bowl tournament sponsored by Southeastern Louisiana University’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi has become a homecoming week tradition at Southeastern Louisiana University.        Phi Kappa Phi bills the event, with a wink, as “another kind of athletic competition.”         “It is the perfect melding of fun and academics,” said the honor society’s secretary, Joan Faust, who came up with the idea of sponsoring the tournament in 2002.        “I was on my high school quiz bowl team,” said Faust, an English professor and assistant dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. “Since Phi Kappa Phi's purpose is to celebrate and to promote ‘the love of learning,’ it seemed like a very appropriate project for us.”        The 2005 tournament, which is open to students, faculty, staff, and alumni, is scheduled for 2-6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, in the War Memorial Student Union ballroom. Southeastern will celebrate Homecoming Week Nov. 7-12 with a host of activities for both the campus and community, capped by the 6 p.m. Nov. 12 Southeastern-Nicholls State football game in Strawberry Stadium.        “The Quiz Bowl is a question and answer game of general knowledge and quick recall,” said Faust.  “Questions cover every conceivable topic -- from history, literature, science, multiculturalism, religion and geography to current events, the arts, social sciences, sports, and popular culture.”        “We are extremely fortunate that [associate professor of communication] Joe Burns, our moderator extraordinaire, will again facilitate the tournament,” she said. “His rapid-fire pace adds to the excitement.”        Faust said any student or faculty/staff or alumni group is invited to put together a team of four players and one alternate. Teams must turn in their $25 registration fee and registration form by 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 1. Registration forms and instructions are available online at www.selu.edu/phikappaphi or can be obtained from Faust, room 300, Fayard Hall, jfaust@selu.edu, 985-549-2101.         The double-elimination tournament separates faculty/staff and student teams until the final playoff match, which pits the top faculty/staff team against the top student team, Faust said.        The first eight teams to register and pay their fee will be guaranteed participation in the tournament. However, PKP may hold a preliminary tournament to cut the field down to eight teams. If needed, the preliminary round will be held on Thursday, Nov. 3 from 2-5 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre.        Prizes of $100 in Southeastern Development Foundation funds go to the top faculty/staff and student teams and $50 to the two second-place teams.          In past years, teams have sported playful names, even costumes.        “The two-time champions, the English faculty Gramminators, started it all by wearing monogrammed shirts,” Faust said. “That was topped by our beloved Sims Memorial Library faculty, the ‘Dewey Decimators,’ with their gray ‘librarian’ wigs, which last year they accented with blinking lights.” She said the 2004 champs, the English faculty’s Quadrivium, sported crowns of laurel leaves.        “Last year's competition was especially fun because of the student-faculty repartee during the finals,” Faust said. She said individuals who would like to participate but do not have a team can contact her. “We will group interested people together into a team,” she said.        Faust also said teams can familiarize themselves with Quiz Bowl format by visiting web sites such as www.collegebowl.com or www.naqt.com.        “There is an official College Quiz Bowl association that organizes national tournaments between universities across the nation,” Faust said. “If we have enough student interest, I hope one day to form a Southeastern team to compete nation-wide.”        The Homecoming Quiz Bowl was originally funded through a National Phi Kappa Promotion of Excellence Grant, which paid for the necessary electronic equipment and a packet of official questions from the official National College Quiz Bowl Association.          “Our grant was one of the few fully funded that year,” Faust said. “The first tournament received national coverage in Phi Kappa Phi's journal and was attended by several members of the national office. We’re delighted it has caught on, and that participants and observers alike see that the Quiz Bowl is really a fun event that fosters friendly competition.”        Southeastern’s Chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, one of the oldest and most prestigious honor societies in America, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2006. Student members are invited from the top 10 percent of the graduate and senior classes and the top seven and a half percent of the junior class. Outstanding faculty, staff, and alumni may also be invited.        For information about other Southeastern Homecoming activities, contact the Alumni Association at 985-549-2150, 1-800-SLU-ALUM or visit www.selu.edu/alumni.