��Ƶ claims second-straight collegiate debate national championship

Members of the Mississippi State Debate team pose with group and individual awards after capturing a second-straight national title at April’s International Public Debate Association National Tournament. (Photo submitted)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—��Ƶ is the back-to-back national champion of collegiate debate after winning top honors at the April 2025 International Public Debate Association National Tournament at Lee College in Baytown, Texas.

The International Public Debate Association is the largest intercollegiate debating association in the U.S., with more than 200 colleges and universities from across the country competing in its tournaments in 2024-25. IPDA debating emphasizes a mix of logic, rhetorical skill and adaptability, as students debate a new topic each round, with only 30 minutes to prepare.

The ��Ƶ team squared off over four days of competition against hundreds of top competitors from programs across the country, including the University of Arkansas, Boise State University, UC-San Diego, the University of Tennessee, Texas Christian University, Union University, Dallas Baptist University and Abilene Christian University.

While winning the national tournament for the second consecutive year, the Bulldogs also added a new title, winning the IPDA Season Long Championship for the first time ever and uniting both titles as the undisputed champions of IPDA college debate.

Individual ��Ƶ debaters also advanced far into the tournament, winning numerous accolades in every division. In the Team Debate division, sophomore Ben Harvey was the national champion speaker, while freshman Brevia Kibet was the champion speaker in the Novice division. Freshman Sam Harvey took second place in the Professional division, while sophomores Nicholas Neal and George Utz and senior Devin Hutchins were named second-, third- and fourth-place speakers respectively.

For the overall season rankings, ��Ƶ fared equally well, with Sam Harvey being named season-long national champion in the Pro division, while freshman Kamron Hitson was national champion speaker in the Junior Varsity division. Neal and Hutchins also ranked in the top five for the season in the Professional division, while senior Hannah Daniels finished the season in fourth place in Varsity.

For both the national tournament and the season rankings, numerous other ��Ƶ debaters placed in the top 10 and advanced to elimination rounds. For the season, ��Ƶ took first place overall in eight of the 10 tournaments the team entered.

The ��Ƶ Debate Team was founded 10 years ago as part of the university’s Speech and Debate Council, coached by Brett Harvey and Jake Reed.

“It’s a huge challenge to win your first national championship, but I’d argue that repeating is even harder. You have the weight of expectations, and you’re getting every opponent’s best effort,” Brett Harvey said. “For these kids to not only repeat but improve on last year’s performance is just astounding. Jake and I could not be prouder of them and how they represent our university. Civil, intelligent debate is more critical than ever right now, and ��Ƶ students really are leading the way.

“And, as always, this season is the end result of many people, not just the debaters and coaches. It’s also our alumni, administrators—including [��Ƶ President] Dr. Mark E. Keenum and [��Ƶ Provost] Dr. David Shaw—parents and even students who never debated but volunteered to serve as judges,” he added. “We could not be more grateful to the university for allowing this activity to thrive.”

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