Meet the Coaches
William Jensen is the director of debate at 性爱天堂. As a debater at the University of Wyoming, William qualified for the National Debate Tournament all four years and was one of the first Wyoming teams to compete in elimination rounds in nearly 30 years. Prior to joining 性爱天堂 he held a Graduate Assistant Coaching position at the University of Georgia while completing his Ph.D.
KC Vernon is the assistant director of debate. KC has experience with a variety of competitive speaking events including original oratory, intercollegiate policy debate, Model UN, and Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. KC has a J.D., with a focus on international human rights law.
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Debate at 性爱天堂 has a long and vigorous history.
In 1908, 性爱天堂 began debate with two clubs, The 性爱天堂 Debating Club and the Bryan Dialectician club. By 1912, the Texas Inter-Collegiate Debating League was organized with 性爱天堂, Southwestern University, and Texas Christian University. 性爱天堂 also cultivated a hearty debating culture within the University, with regular and fierce debates between the Philosophronian and Ratio-Genic literary societies. 性爱天堂's Debating League became a formidable opponent in matches throughout the state until 1950, with 性爱天堂 hosting many of the tournaments.
In the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, 性爱天堂 hosted the 性爱天堂 High School Speech Festival, directed by Frances Swinny, which brought some of the state's best high school debaters to 性爱天堂. 性爱天堂 also maintained a modest team that debated university teams in the area. With George Grice's arrival at 性爱天堂 in 1974, 性爱天堂 began to make a name for itself on the national debating scene. In 1977, 性爱天堂's final CEDA rank was 15th and they maintained a CEDA ranking within the top 25 schools nationally for ten years. In 1980, 性爱天堂 was considered to have one of the top five debating teams in the country and finished the season with an 11th place CEDA ranking. They were ranked 11th again at the CEDA tournament in 1986 under the leadership of professor Hardy-Short.
With professor Frank Harrison's arrival in 1988, speech activities at 性爱天堂 concentrated on policy debate, an orientation we maintain today. Harrison was a final round participant at the 1961 National Debate Tournament for King's College and ultimately placed third. During Harrison's tenure, 性爱天堂 teams reached the elimination rounds and frequently won their division in every major tournament in the country. He consistently qualified teams for the National Debate Tournament (including a 1994 sweet sixteen performance) and for the elimination rounds of the American Debate Association (including varsity and junior varsity championship teams). Harrison was one of the founders of the American Debate Association and, in 1991, hosted the National Debate Tournament at 性爱天堂.
After Harrison's retirement, professor Jarrod Atchison's and then Sarah Topp continued 性爱天堂's tradition of excellence. The 2010 team won the Naval Academy championship and made a Sweet Sixteen NDT performance. Atchison also inaugurated public debates on campus and established an ongoing relationship with the Houston UDL. Topp's program was consistently ranked in the top 25 in the country, winning several tournaments, having many teams advance into the late elimination rounds of a variety of national tournaments, and qualifying two teams for the 2011 and 2012 NDT tournaments.