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Debate’s First Sixty-five Years – 1835-1900 – The Literary Society Era
Half a Century Revisited – 1900-1950
- 1913 to 1987: Annual Debate Series characterizes the era
- 1909: Wake Forest wins at Randolph Macon Annual Debate (read more)
- 1909 to 1911: Silver Loving Cup Debate Series with Davidson
- 1911: First Junior-Sophomore Debates (this evolves into Society Day in 1914)
- 1914: First Society Day Orations and Debates
- 1917: First Annual Declamation Contest for High Schools
- 1920s: Mark Expansion of Intercollegiate Audience Debates
- 1926, April 6: Pi Kappa Delta, North Carolina Beta Chapter, 119 Founded
- 1929: Typical Travel Schedule
- 1931: First Tournament (perhaps) convention of the Southern Association of Teachers of Speech in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1934: Report to Alumni on State of the Debate Program
- 1939, April 7-8: North Carolina HS Debate and Speech Tournament, said to have had 25 “leading high schools “
- 1943: The Disappearance of Wake Debate Coach Zon Robinson, Wake Debate’s Most Enduring Mystery
- 1942: First woman, Martha Ann Allen, competes for Wake Forest in varsity debate (read more of Women in Wake Debate)
- 1945: Intramural Tournament held
- 1943 to 1945: Intercollegiate debates suspended for WWII
- 1946 to 1948: A. Lewis Aycock revives intercollegiate debate
- 1947: Pi Kappa Delta Co-National Champions
- 1950: Summer Debate Workshop revived by Shirley, was stopped prior to WWII
The Modern Era – 1950-Present
- 1951, November 17: Wake Forest Novice debate tournament starts
- 1954: A National Controversy – Debating “Red China”
- 1956, December: Dixie Classic Tournament Starts
- 1956: Wake Forest College Reynolda Campus open in Winston-Salem, NC
- 1957: High School tournament revived
- 1961: Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts established
- 1963: TKA Charter Obtained
- 1967: Wake Forest College becomes Wake Forest University
- 1973: Hosted National Forensics League High School Nationals
- 1978: Death of A. Lewis Aycock
- 1978: Debater’s Research Guide revived, thirty year tradition of excellence of high school service
- 1983: Dixie Classic renamed the Franklin R. Shirley Dixie Classic
- 1984: National Earlybird Forensics Tournament inaugurated
- 1985, 1988: Gloria Cabada Top Speaker at National Debate Tournament
- 1995: Brovero & Hughes win Copeland Tournament
- 1996: Wake Forest Host 50th National Debate Tournament
- 1997: Wake Wins National Debate Tournament; Magazine Account, Window on Wake Forest Account, Reflections of National Champion by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
- 2001: Shirley Classic host innovative “National Debate-In” following 9/11
- 2001: Record Breaking Senior Year Featured
- 2002: Shirley Classic becomes host of the National Coach of the Year award
- 2002: Debate Team participates in Presidential Debate Week
- 2003: Dixie Classic renamed Franklin R. Shirley Classic
- 2004: Won Novice National Title for only second time (first in 1996)
- 2006: Jamie Carroll and Brad Hall place 2nd at National Debate Tournament
- 2006: Liz Lundeen named Truman Scholar, WFU Debate’s 5th Truman
- 2006: Eugene Worrell, champion debater from 1936 – 1940 and longtime Wake Forest benefactor, dies
- 2006, April: Merwyn Hayes Trophy Case Dedicated, Reunion held
- 2008: Deacs win National Debate Tournament
- 2009: Deacs Loose Long time Coach and Director of Debate Ross K. Smith
- 2009: Wake Forest makes the finals of the National Debate Tournament and finishes in second place.
- 2010: Jarrod Atchison (’01 & ’03) joins as the Director of Debate
- 2012: Justin Green (’99) joins as the Head Coach
- 2015: Wake Forest wins the ACC Debate Championship
- 2016: Wake Forest wins the ACC Debate Championship for the second year in a row
- 2017: Wake Forest wins the ACC Debate Championship for the third year in a row, makes the semifinals of the NDT, and semifinals of CEDA nationals
- 2017: Amber Kelsie join as the Associate Head Coach
Debate Highlights
- Declamation and Senior Speakers of the late 1800s
- Debates without Travel – Recorded Debates in 1940’s preview Internet Debates
- Franklin R. Shirley’s Notes of Team Highlights – 1947-1967
- Franklin R. Shirley Dixie Classic Past Winners & History – 1956-Present
- Traveling adventures in 1957, by Charles Bentley
- “Collegiate Debate: An Art, A Science, A Way of Life” Wake Forest Magazine, January 1968
- “Fess” History and Franklin Shirley: Professor and Democrat, Wake Forest Magazine, January 1969
- Debate in the 70’s at Wake Forest – Roger Solt
- “Accentuating the Affirmative” Wake Forest University Magazine, September 1988
- “Podium Power” Wake Forest University Magazine, June 1992
- Hosting International Tours – Photos since 1965, Public Debates
- 2003 Kings and Queens of the Files, Howler Feature
- Anjali Garg – Debate, Wake Forest Magazine, Dec. 2003
- “One Cool Guy”, WOWF profile of Director Allan Louden, April 2004
- “Think Hard,Talk Fast, Yikes” Wake Forest Magazine, Spring 2013
