After an eight-year hiatus, ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder's popular Trivia Bowl is returning to campus April 2-6 to delight viewers and participants once again as teams match their wits on questions ranging from the sublime to the obscure.
Team applications and bowl rules and regulations are now available on the Web at or through several offices at the University Memorial Center. Program Council, the entertainment branch of the UMC, will produce the bowl.
The application deadline is March 14 and teams will be chosen on a "first- come, first-served" basis. Interested individuals are urged to submit applications early to assure a position in the bowl.
In previous years, teams have tapped players from across the nation to vie for the coveted Trivia Bowl trophy. Typically, teams are comprised of four or five players, with five-member teams having four starters and one alternate. Preference is given to teams that include at least one ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder student, enrolled for at least six credit hours in the spring 2001 semester.
UMC Associate Director JC Ancell, who was on campus during most of the Trivia Bowl years, said this yearÂ’s bowl will feature questions aimed at "bridging the gap" between older, baby boomer trivia buffs and their young student counterparts. The 2001 bowl will have questions on video games and the latest "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" programs with less emphasis on rock stars and sitcoms.
ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥Â’s first Trivia Bowl was launched in 1968 by then business Professor David Bowen, head coach of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥Â’s undefeated 1967 G.E. College Bowl team. The Trivia Bowl became an immediate success during the tumult of student unrest, according to a history of the Trivia Bowl. In the first bowl, the team "Beagle Boys" beat out 31 others to take the title under captain Steve Ross.
Because of large crowds, the Trivia Bowl moved from its first-year location in the UMCÂ’s old cafeteria to the Glenn Miller Ballroom. By 1970 the Trivia Bowl was firmly established and local businesses were donating hundreds of dollars worth of prizes. The Trivia Bowl Film Festival also was added that year.
The bowl expanded from 1971 to 1973, including expansion of the film festival and the addition of the first Trivia Bowl guest star, Pinky Lee. Freddie Cannon sang "Palisades Park" before 1,200 screaming nostalgia buffs in the ballroom in 1972 and in 1973 guest star Del Shannon performed "Runaway" and "Runaround Sue" to overflow crowds.
In 1974, with 48 teams competing and team "Chance Rejuvenated" taking the honors, Bobby Vee provided entertainment with hits including "Rubber Ball" and "Come Back When You Grow Up." By 1976 so many teams had signed up that the Program Council was forced to split the competition into amateur and master divisions.
Over the years, the Trivia Bowl was featured on ABCÂ’s Wide World of Entertainment, the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, the Disney Channel and in Newsweek, P.M. magazine and Games magazine, which called it "the largest and most prestigious competition of its kind." Other entertainers included the Coasters, Tommy James, Bo Diddley and the Guess Who.
When it ended in 1993, a proliferation of radio stations, musical styles and 100-station cable offerings were among the phenomena blamed for the bowlÂ’s decreasing popularity.
Applications can be obtained at the reception desk on the second floor of the UMC, in the Student Organization Finance Office of the UMC, room 231, or at the Program Council office, UMC room 409.
An entry fee of $25 is required upon application and applications are due by March 14. Applications can be delivered or mailed to SOFO, UMC room 231, 207 UCB, University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥, Boulder, CO 80309.