The College Bowl was the brainchild of Herb Larson, known as the “Johnny Carson” of the deaf and hard of hearing community – an allusion to his years as host of the Emmy-winning local television talk show, “Off Hand.” Larson felt that the deaf and hard of hearing community needed to acknowledge the outstanding mental abilities of their students in academic institutions. His hard work paid off and the College Bowl kicked off at the 1988 NAD Convention in Charleston, South Carolina.
The development of the first National College Bowl competition was certainly no small task! Larson, who represented CSUN, obtained the support of Astrid Goodstein at Gallaudet and Tom Holcomb at NTID/RIT as College Bowl representatives for their schools. They spent hours on the phone and in several meetings together to draw up the guidelines, establish the roles of the game, select the topics, write the questions, prepare the judges, purchase the trophy, and assist with the room preparations and ticket sales. Thanks to the efforts of the original three representatives, the College Bowl has since then blossomed and now attracts droves of NAD Conference participants.
The Gallaudet team consisted of the student leaders of the Deaf President Now (DPN) protest: Greg Hlibok, Bridgetta Bourne, and Tim Rarus (replaced by Roger Kraft prior to the competition). The NTID/RIT team had Marcie Stern, Paul Skurda, and Steve Vicker. The CSUN team had Lisa Herberger, Josh Mendelsohn, and Mark Sommer.
When Larson, the emcee for the first competition, showed the first question, he suddenly struggled to stifle his surprise when he saw that it asked, “Who is the Johnny Carson of the deaf community?”
All three colleges correctly answered, “Herb Larson!”
The first College Bowl was such a success at the NAD Conference that many had to be turned away at the door! After a loud and exciting contest, CSUN emerged victorious, NTID/RIT second, and Gallaudet third.
To date, Gallaudet has eight victories, NTID/RIT is catching up with three wins, and CSUN is still seeking its second win.
*College Bowl Champion
1988, Charleston
CSUN*: Lisa Herberger, Josh Mendelsohn, Mark Sommer.
Gallaudet: Greg Hlibok, Bridgetta Bourne, Roger Kraft
NTID: Marcie Stern, Paul Skurda, Steve Vicker.
1990, Indianapolis
CSUN: Josh Mendelsohn, Mark Sommer, John Underwood.
Gallaudet*: Emily Alexander, Holly Elkins, Christopher Shea.
NTID: Marcie Stern, Paul Skurda, Steve Vicker.
1992, Denver
CSUN: James Bronson, Jeff Pavkovich, Eric Scheir.
Gallaudet*: Kelby Brick, Gino Gouby, John Moore, Barry Solomon.
NTID: Alok Kanu Doshi, Lea Moynihan, Robert Rice, David John Tai.
1994, Knoxville
CSUN: Michael Barrett, Jeff Pavkovich, Kevin Saunders, Trent Wade.
Gallaudet: Dave Evans, Neil McDevitt, Todd McIntosh, Joe Murray.
NTID*: Alok Kanu Doshi, Jamie Munro, Robert Rice, David John Tai.
1996, Portland
CSUN: Lauren Abbott, Cindy Bronson, Kimberly Nungesser, Amy Wong.
Gallaudet: D.J. Kurs, Jonathan Lamberton, Rob Voreck, Myra Yanke.
NTID*: Edward Bart, Katherine Hoheusle, Gregory Munro, Timothy Stewart.
1998, San Antonio
CSUN: Kyle Houston, Erick Posner, Lauren Teruel, Steven Wright.
Gallaudet*: Terry Giansanti, D.J. Kurs, Jonathan Lamberton, Christian Wojnar.
NTID: Kevin Bernadt, Katherine Hoheusle, J.M. Kramlinger, Paul Thompson.
2000, Norfolk
CSUN: Cindy Bronson, Kyle Houston, Erika Leger, Dennis Selznick.
Gallaudet*: Jason Lamberton, Allison Polk, Sara Robinson, Christian Wojnar.
NTID: William Huber, Daniel Millikin, Pamela Siebert, Paul Thompson.
2002, Washington, DC
CSUN: Kevin Bohlin, Mela Bennett, Kyle Houston, Keith Nolan.
Gallaudet: Jonathan Henner, Christopher Kaftan, Sara Robinson, Patrick Rosenberg.
NTID*: Andrew Phillips, Pamela Siebert, Sara Stallard, Adam Stone.
2004, Kansas City
CSUN: Kerry Nicole Bobeczko, Matthew Guarino, Jared Patton, Julia Velasquez.
Gallaudet*: Jonathan Paul Chanin, Pia Maria Paulone, Andrew Phillips, Drew Robarge.
NTID: Geo Kartheiser, Donald Slate, David Spiecker, John-Michael Stern.
2006, Palm Desert
CSUN: Darren Hause, Josh Josa, Michael Sidansky, Scott Vinegar.
Gallaudet*: Jonathan Paul Chanin, Pia Marie Paulone, Andrew Phillips, Drew Robarge.
NTID: Josh Allmann, Aaron Delbruegge, Randal Kidd, Jr., Lane Lucht.
2008, New Orleans
CSUN: Darren Hause, Josh Josa, Jairon Popal, Michael Sidansky.
Gallaudet*: Tyler DeShaw, Meredith Peruzzi, Jonathan Paul Chanin, David Uzzell.
NTID: Josh Allmann, Aaron Delbruegge, Geo Kartheiser, Randall Kidd, Jr.
2010, Philadelphia
CSUN: Darren Hause, Brandon Marin, Joshua Soudakoff, Emily Schwartz.
Gallaudet*: Meredith Peruzzi, Gabriel Paulone, David Uzzell, Allison Weiner, Colin Whited.
NTID: Gianni Manganelli, Colin Pearson, Hannah Worek, Jordan Burgener, Cory Behm.