Ball State University's debate team won the national championship April 2-3 as it hosted the National Educational Debate Association (NEDA) tournament.

Under the coaching of Mike Bauer, a communication studies professor, Ball State had a team in each of the three division final rounds, and two students were named debate team all-Americans.

"The students worked very hard and dedicated themselves to this," Bauer said. "It has been a very good year for us considering we started with only a few returning team members from last year. To win a national championship is a great accomplishment for this group of students."

Students with top performances at the national championships included Amanda Carpenter, a senior, who defended her title in the Lincoln-Douglas style debate; Jennifer Shea, a freshman, and Joe McGowan, a junior, finished in second place in the novice division; and seniors Brett Mock and Kristina Moorhead were second in the varsity division. 

Other students qualifying for honors included Ian Flores, a junior, a quarterfinalist in Lincoln Douglas; Dallis Pike, a freshman, was a semifinalist in Lincoln Douglas; and Lori Pullan, a junior, and Becky Tucker, a freshman, were semifinalists in the novice division. Moorhead also was the ninth-place speaker in varsity; Mock was in seventh place and Pullan was ninth in novice; and Shea was the top novice speaker. 

Carpenter and Moorhead were also named debate all-Americans.

"I think it says a great deal about Carpenter and Moorhead," Bauer said. "Being an all-American is a major accomplishment."

Under Bauer's direction, Ball State's debate team has had consistent success for the past 14 years. Two years ago, the debate team won the NEDA two-team varsity national championship. In 2003-04, a  team member won the NEDA Lincoln-Douglas national championship.

NEDA is a collegiate debate association emphasizing typical public forum debate. Colleges compete at eight tournaments each year: four in the fall semester and four in the spring semester, including the National Tournament.