UT Tyler Debate Finishes 2022-23 Season Strong
Top 10-ranked team takes second place in national debate tournament
TYLER (April 26, 2023) – The University of Texas at Tyler placed second in the 2023 National Parliamentary Debate Association National Championship, hosted by the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.
Senior political science major Hunter Parrish of Caddo Mills and sophomore political science major Joshua Smith of Lindale advanced to the final round where they debated against No. 1 seed University of California-Berkeley.
“On their way to finals, they won close, tough debates against the University of Chicago, Rice University, San Diego State University and other excellent competition from across the country at the biggest tournament of the entire year,” said Dr. Joseph Provencher, UT Tyler director of forensics. “They have a sterling reputation in the community as hard workers, supportive competitors and students who clearly play the game with a passion and charisma that goes admired by other directors, coaches and competitors alike. I could not be prouder of the way they handled themselves on the circuit and achieving a second-place finish is a wonderful cap to a successful season.”
Parrish and Smith also were invited to compete in the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence, which is an elite round robin format featuring the top 10 nationally ranked partners, where they finished third.
Other UT Tyler debate members include Zachary Stansbery of Hallsville, Leilani Hurtado of Tyler, Harlin Dean of Allen, Rebecca Wood of Quitman, Amber McAdams of Boerne and Angie Carroll of Chicago.
The award-winning UT Tyler debate program competes nationally in NPDA/NPTE. This format of debate requires participants to compete in partnerships of two, who accrue points toward a national, season-long ranking. For more information, contact Provencher at jprovencher@uttyler.edu.
With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs to 10,000 students. UT Tyler recently merged with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (now known as UT Tyler Health Science Center). Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center (HSC) and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.