Why Debate

Here is a top ten list for reasons that a recruit may prefer to debate at UNLV over other universities/debate programs that you may be considering: 

1) You could get in on the ground floor of a team with incredible potential to grow--You could literally be building the foundation for a National championship in the next few years.  The credit for victory would be yours and yours alone (as opposed to crediting those who came before you, seniors on the team, etc).  The stated goal the Sanford I. Berman Debate Forum is to quickly become a program that is consistently ranked in the top ten in the nation, and one that eventually wins a national championship (or preferably several of them).  You can be an important part of the foundation of a national powerhouse debate team at UNLV.  Students who debate at UNLV have a great opportunity to become team leaders.

2) There are not yet any Juniors or Seniors on the team.  Recruits who debate at UNLV will be the center of attention, get all of the coaching, and you wouldn't be in the position of having to do a bunch of "grunt work" for the top team.
 
3) The coaching staff at the Sanford I. Berman Debate Forum has a unique ability to build on the foundation of knowledge that you gained in high school.  The only responsibility of the Director of Debate, other than teaching one class per semester, is to build the team, and coach and strategize, and recruit future debaters.  Unlike most debate  coaches, who are also faculty members, the Director of the Sanford I. Berman Debate Forum has no publication requirements, etc.  The Sanford I. Berman Debate Forum also has two assistant coaches who are getting their masters degrees in Communication Studies at UNLV.  The assistant coaches have no teaching responsibilities--their only reason for being is to get decent grades, to help the Director coach the teams, and to cut a ton of cards.  The coaching staff is dedicated to helping debaters improve, to maximize their strengths, and to correct their mistakes.  We will help you to achieve your maximum potential as a debater at UNLV.  With our coaching most high school debaters that choose to debate in the Sanford I. Berman Debate Forum will win a TON of college debates.
 
4)  The Sanford I. Berman Debate Forum will provide all competitors with excellent travel opportunities.  The travel budget at UNLV is very generous and we'll travel to every major national tournament in the nation (Harvard, Wake, USC, Northwestern, etc).  At UNLV incoming recruits will not be stuck on the regional schedule that many younger students are relegated to.
 
5) There is unprecedented financial and university support for the team.  We are endowed by a private donor and have a very generous budget.
 
6) Despite its newness, the Sanford I. Berman Debate Forum is an inherently stable team.   The Director of Debate plans on staying at UNLV for the long term and creating a debate dynasty.  We'll always have a large and stable team, with assistant coaches and many many many high quality high school recruits coming in each year.
 
7) UNLV provides an excellent education at an affordable price; our debate scholarships will substantially offset the cost of your education.  If you are from one of 13 Western States, and you meet a few additional criteria, you will qualify for the Western States Undergraduate Exchange program, which will dramatically reduce your tuition costs.  The Sanford I. Berman Debate Forum can not yet offer (non-Western States) out of state recruits enough scholarship money to make school free, but we can make it reasonably cheap

Debate scholarships are talent-based scholarships and the amount is dependent on previous debate experience/success and the content of your answers to the student interest form.  Generally, we prefer to start by giving students smaller scholarships and increasing the amount as they improve their work skills, increase their level of commitment and participation, demonstrate a desire to learn/improve/win, etc.  We want to attract students for the right reasons... We want them to come to UNLV because they want to and love to debate, want to improve and win a ton of debates. 

Other monetary considerations include the fact that we'll host a high school debate institute starting in the summer if 2009.  Our debaters will be guaranteed opportunities to work at the camp earning extra money.  In the meantime (before summer 2009) the coaching staff will do everything in their power to assist our debaters in finding other summer debate camp jobs.

The bottom line about scholarship money is that nothing good in this life is free.  UNLV is a VERY good school and you can get a great education for a VERY affordable price at UNLV
 
8) We have incredible recruits who provide excellent partner possibilities.  Mike Eisenstadt, two-time NFL qualifier and 2007 Nevada State Champion is guaranteed to to debate at UNLV.  Tim Jeffries from Newton KS is also a two-time NFL qualifier and finalist in the Kansas 5A State Championship also is guaranteed to debate at UNLV.  Other potential recruits include Cameron Goldsmith from Caddo Magnet High School.  He and his partner have six bids to the TOC and were just ranked as the 3rd best high school debate team in America.  Ryan Morgan, a transfer student from Augustana Sollege also is considering attending UNLV.  He debated at Auburn High School in Washington and his Junior year he was the Washington State Champion.  As a freshman Ryan attended several large national tournaments in the regular-season and the CEDA National tournament.  In addition, dozens of additional students have contacted me about joining the team.

9) The high school policy debate community in Las Vegas, throughout the rest of Nevada, and across the southwest is incredibly vibrant and diverse.  We have incredible recruiting opportunities as well as excellent opportunities for our debaters to get jobs working with local teams.

10) UNLV is in LAS VEGAS (Vegas--Baby!).  It's an amazing town, diverse, interesting, and has a ton of stuff to do.  Most other schools just don't match up when you compare the social life that you could have at UNLV.  The college experience should be about creating a whole person who is well-rounded--being in an amazing city that's constantly growing is an important aspect of fulfilling that goal.

How to Select a College Program

Selecting a college debate program is one of the most improtant choices that you will make.  We believe that UNLV is a great place for anyone to debate, but we want every student to end up debating in the college program that best suits their needs.  Dr. Allan Louden, the former director of the Wake Forest Debate Team, has wirtten an insightful essay that offers students excellent and nonpartisan advise on how to make that decision.