Alabama Forensic Council Wins Two National Championships

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama Forensic Council, The University of Alabama’s competitive speech team, won two national championships in speech and debate during the virtual Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament March 18-21.

The AFC won both the Team National Championship for individual events in speech and the Overall Team National Championship which included elements of both speech and debate.

UA College of Communication and Information Sciences students Cassidy Duncan, of Montgomery, Cortland Stone, of Columbiana, Ohio, and Elizabeth Tagg, of Lindale, Texas, won first place in the Informative Speaking, Dramatic Interpretation and Prose categories respectively. Stone and Tagg also received first place in the Duo Interpretation category.

Students were tasked with completing their events online this year. According to Dr. Benjamin Pyle, director of AFC, the students adapted to the new competition style with ease.

“Our students dove head-first into figuring out how best to make this new competition format work for them to win the national tournaments,” Pyle said. “The Team Championship at the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament was the first of our three main competitive goals this season. Words cannot contain the amount of pride I hold in my heart for each of my students, graduate assistant coaches, volunteers, alumni and fellow administrators who have fought hard to reach this achievement.”

The AFC is the oldest co-curricular organization on campus and aims to respect and build upon the successes of alumni and forge a path for current and future students. AFC provides students with skills and resources to engage in intellectual discovery, enable professional development, strengthen and utilize their unique voices, construct compelling messages, engage in interpersonal and rhetorical exploration, and foster community through advocacy and argumentation.