Published on March 5, 2002 at 6 p.m. by Mary Wimberley  

A Â鶹ÊÓƵ debate team has qualified to compete in the National Debate Tournament.

Jim Smith and James Radford qualified for the national event by finishing in the top six at the Southeastern region's qualifying tournament hosted by Georgia State Â鶹ÊÓƵ on Feb. 23.

The Samford debaters defeated teams from the Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Louisville, State Â鶹ÊÓƵ of West Georgia, Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Alabama, Mercer Â鶹ÊÓƵ and the Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Florida. More than 50 schools competed.

Radford was ranked second best speaker at the tournament.

Smith and Radford, both from Troy, are former debaters at Troy's Charles Henderson High School.

The National Debate Tournament will be at Southwestern Missouri State Â鶹ÊÓƵ in Springfield, Mo., March 22-27. Samford has qualified for the national tournament 23 times since 1973.

Dr. Mike Janas is Samford director of debate. Ben Coulter is debate coach.

 

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 35 Most Beautiful College Campuses, Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.