The Chronicles of the Academic Competition Organization from Prehistoric Times to the Present

The beginnings of quiz bowl play at Truman State University are long since lost in the mists of history. Except for a few dusty awards in a trophy case buried under the staircase of the Student Union Building and cryptic references on the College Bowl website, there are no relics or records of the illustrious forebears of modern quiz bowlers at Truman. The scant archaeological evidence indicates that Truman teams were quite successful at College Bowl tournaments, winning four regional tournaments in the 1990s, and frequently placing in regional playoffs.

Truman emerged from the dark and into the formal world of collegiate quiz bowl play in the early 21st century with the establishment of the Academic Competition Organization sometime around 2000 or 2001. Founded by Jonathan Livengood, a transfer student from the University of Missouri-Rolla, ACO (as it is affectionately known as) quickly attracted several players and became a viable campus organization. After struggling to become well-known in the first few years of existence, Truman finally began to emerge as a strong quiz contender in the Midwest. 2002-2003 was a breakout year, with Truman placing third at Rollapalooza and second at the CBI Regional.

Drawing on a strong pool of recruits attracted by Truman’s reputation for academic excellence and not for being a party school, ACO has continued to grow as a strong campus organization and successful regional contender. It has expanded its scope into other formats besides College Bowl. Invitational tournaments are always fun, and ACO has participated in NAQT and dabbled in ACF and TRASH. ACO won its first bid to the NAQT Intercollegiate National Championship Tournament (ICT) in 2003 and placed 12th, and a year later ACO finished 11th in the same tournament. After knocking on the door for two years, Truman finally won the College Bowl (CBI) Region 11 Championship in 2004, and placed 7th at Nationals.

Since then, ACO has continued to grow and get stronger. The organization successfully hosted an intercollegiate tournament from 2002 until 2004. ACO won its first outright NAQT ICT Division I invitation in 2005, and repeated as College Bowl Regional Champions that same year. At the CBI National Championship, Truman placed fourth and senior Matt Magruder became the first All-American ACO player. ACO successfully hosted its first high school quiz bowl tournament in 2006.