University of Louisville Debate Program Squad Returns to Competition

Small, impressive team begins at novice but jumps to varsity on stellar record

After a long pause due to the COVID pandemic, the University of Louisville Debate Program is back in action and as formidable as ever. We are small but fierce, representing our university with the blend of graduate-level research, profound logic, and powerful personal narratives that the larger debate community has come to expect from our nationally recognized squad.

Our team this year included Divya Naidugari, a sophomore majoring in Biology on a pre-med track, and Ta'Ron Johnson, also a sophomore, who is pursuing his degree in Communication, with the goal of becoming a sportswriter. Both are first-year debaters who attacked the activity with excitement and academic rigor. They were guided through an impressive first season by longtime Director (and Coach) of the UofL Debate Program, Dr. Tiffany Dillard-Knox (TDK to the debate community).

In the Fall, Johnson and Naidugari (or JN, as they are known in rounds) began their debate careers as Novice debates in the University of Kentucky’s JW Patterson Debate Tournament. They finished the tournament with a preliminary record of 5-1, thus advancing to the elimination rounds, where they ended the tournament as semifinalists. Additionally, both won speaker awards, with Naidugari honored as the 2nd-place speaker and Johnson placing 7th.

That success was followed by a strong performance at the American Debate Association Fall Championships, held by Wake Forest University. Competing virtually, JN had a preliminary record of 3-3, finished the tournament as quarterfinalists, and picked up two more speaker awards, with Naidugari at 9th and named 13th speaker.

The Spring semester got off to slow start due to weather. The team, however, bounced back with a remarkable performance at the CEDA National Debate Tournament, held at Rutger’s University in Newark, NJ. While Naidugari was taking her MCAT exam, Johnson teamed up with Acia Diallo to compete in their first in-person national tournament! Facing off against the highest-seeded teams in the nation, JD achieved a 4-4 preliminary record.

The team’s success is no surprise, given who is at the helm. Dr. Dillard-Knox has a long history with and commitment to the UofL Debate program, having been

recruited to be a debater as an undergraduate student; she went on to serve the program as a Graduate Assistant, Program Coordinator, and finally, Director, a role she has held for a decade. Her excellence was acknowledged this year, when she was awarded the Brownlee Award, the highest coaching honor given by the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) national tournament. The award description reads:

The Brownlee Award is given annually to a forensic educator who demonstrates outstanding achievement in scholarship, education and service to CEDA. The award is named in honor of longtime coach and founding CEDA member Don Brownlee. The ideal candidate demonstrates some element of all three factors (scholarship, education and service to CEDA).

Additionally, Shauntrice Martin (’07) won the Alumni of the Year award. Martin is currently working to bring exposure to Louisville’s visual arts community. As an artist she has had several exhibitions, including a residency at the Speed Art Museum.