The sound of buzzers can be heard emanating from a medium-sized AV room in the James A. Glasgow Library building on the Phil Campbell campus of Northwest-Shoals Community College.
Six NWSCC students are seated at a small table in the back right corner of the room. Their thumbs are on a small, handheld trigger, waiting for the right opportunity to strike for their side. But there’s no need to fear. These students are not dangerous; they are armed only with “useless knowledge,” as a few like to refer to it. These six students are members of the NWSCC College Bowl team.
“It’s essentially like Jeopardy except we don’t have to answer in the form of a question,” said Brady Petree, a Tharptown native and captain of the team. “It’s basically a team of four players at a time that answer trivia questions ranging in topics from literature to history to sports to pop culture. Really, anything you can think of.”
The College Bowl team practices in the afternoons twice a week on campus. On this particular day, the team is preparing to host a high school Scholars Bowl tournament but also practicing for upcoming College Bowl tournaments.
“Next we’re going to compete in a regular tournament at Lawson State Community College,” Petree said. “In April we’ll compete in Birmingham in the state tournament at UAB.”
The NWSCC College Bowl competes in tournaments throughout the academic year, traveling all over Alabama and the southeast to take on other College Bowl programs.
“We went to Gulf Shores back in October, and then we went to Bevill in Jasper to compete. We were just in Birmingham at Jefferson State for the sectional tournament,” Petree said. “We compete against a majority of the community colleges in Alabama, and I wouldn’t say we see a lot of other teams, but we do see some from Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. They mainly come to Alabama to compete.”
The school funds the travel for the team, and Sharon Watson, the team’s advisor, says the backing by the administration has made the program much better than it has been in the past.
“When I was at school here back in the ‘80s, I was on the team and we were not very good,” said Watson, a math professor who took over the program in 2000. “Back then, we didn’t have school support. Now we have great support from the administration. They pay for our trips and to represent the school, so it’s nice to be in a place where academics are supported.”
For some, College Bowl is a natural continuation from the Scholars Bowl programs they participated in in high school.
“Me and Daniel (Jenkins), we both started in middle school in seventh grade, and we were on the Scholars Bowl team through our senior year of high school,” said Josh Pinkard, a Russellville High School alumnus. “Daniel got the College Bowl scholarship in high school and I didn’t think anything of it. Well, I got here and wanted another math class so I talked to Mrs. Watson. I found out she was the College Bowl sponsor, and she told me there was another scholarship available. So, I tried out and I made it, too.”
For others, Scholars Bowl was never offered at the middle or high school levels, so participating in College Bowl is a fun way to showcase their erudition.
“Me and Kaitlin (Vandiver), and I know Luke (Stanford), didn’t have a Scholars Bowl team in high school,” Petree said. “I think one of the biggest things about being in College Bowl is it’s given us a chance to put that so called ‘useless knowledge’ to good use.”
Petree says College Bowl is also a good release for those with a competitive spirit.
“It is competitive, so if you’re a very competitive person, this really helps out,” he said. “It helps fill that need if that’s something you have.”
Aside from providing opportunities to travel and a means to compete academically, there is another major perk to joining the NWSCC College Bowl team: Scholarship money.
“The scholarship pays for 16 hours of tuition fees,” Watson said. “It’s one of the best scholarships we have, and there’s not a better scholarship the school offers.”
Watson also says that College Bowl provides students a way to familiarize themselves in other areas of academia.
“What I see happening with students many times is they have a particular thing or subject they’re good at, but when they’re on the College Bowl team they become more well-rounded,” she said. “It really does increase your knowledge in a variety of subjects and a broader range of things.”
There are just six members of the College Bowl team at a time, and NWSCC provides just six scholarships to fill the team. Only an exclusive few students make the team and the competition is typically high, but Petree says that shouldn’t deter anyone from giving it a shot.
“Don’t be afraid to try out because all they can tell you is no,” he said. “If you have a lot of that ‘pointless information’ or specialize in one thing that you know a lot about, try out. Again, all Mrs. Watson can do it tell you no.”
Watson says the NWSCC College Bowl team will likely soon be searching for a new team member.
“Brady, unless something unforeseen happens, will be leaving us after this year, so we’ll be looking for someone to fill that spot,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for someone to earn a scholarship. Hopefully, we’ll get some great applicants and we’ll fill that void with another great player.”
