Mississippi State tops IPDA Standings midway through 2024-25 season

These university debate programs are at the top of the standings for the International Public Debate Association's Founder's Award. This is the marquee award for top debate program in the IPDA format. Points are counted for novice, varsity, junior varsity, and professional divisions.

1. Mississippi State University (204 Points)

2. Louisiana State University - Shreveport (137 Points)

3. Dallas Baptist University (120 Points)

4. Simpson College (117 Points)

5. William Carey University (98 Points)

6. University of Tennessee - Knoxville (85 Points)

7. University of Central Missouri (84 Points)

8. Weber State University (78 Points)

9. Middle Tennessee State University (77 Points)

10. University of Washington (76 Points)

Mississippi State has been dominant in competition all season long, and hold a commanding lead over the rest of the field. Historically, the IPDA Founders Award has been been won by teams in the South, with sparse representation from other regions, due to the league having more competitions in the Southern United States than any other regions. The inclusion Simpson College (Iowa), Weber State (Utah), and the University of Washington in the top 10 signals an expansion of the league's popularity into the central and western regions of the US.

Just outside of the top 10, there are handful of other universities in the hunt for an award this season:

Boise State University (74)

Belmont University (72)

Southern Methodist University (71)

Abilene Christian University (68)

Union University (68)

Recognizing the top 5 individual competitors at this point of the season in each of these divisions, here are the current leaders in the standings for Individual Awards:

Novice:

1. Issac Hale (William Carey University)

2. Hannah Raub (Southwest Baptist University)

3. Noelle Porterfield (Belmont University)

4. Le'Jeaha Falany (Mississippi State University)

5. Thomas Thurner (Mississippi State University)

Junior Varsity:

1. Kamron Hitson (Mississippi State University)

2. Micah Robinson (LSU Shreveport)

3. Brett Jarboe (Dallas Baptist University)

4. Sage Robinson (Middle Tennessee State University)

5. Maggie West (University of Tennessee)

   
   

Varsity:

1. Evan Garrison (Mississippi State University)

2. Cameron Theole (LSU Shreveport)

3. Eli Habersetzer (University of Tennessee)

4. Nicodemus Gabel (Middle Tennessee State University)

5. (TIE) Anja Waugh (Simpson College) and Sienna Gomez (Weber State University)

Professional:

1. Nicolas Neal (Mississippi State University)

2. George Utz (Mississippi State University)

3. Thomas Sorenson (Abilene Christian University)

4. Daniel Murrah (Dallas Baptist University)

5. CJ Parrish (University of Tennessee)

*Note that not all tournaments have reported their results to the International Public Debate Association