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It's Academic

 
Wikipedia: It's Academic

It's Academic is a televised academic quiz competition for high school students, currently airing on two NBC affiliates in Washington, D.C. (WRC-TV), Central Virginia (WVIR), and one CBS affiliate Baltimore, Maryland (WJZ-TV). The show has been on the air since 1961, making it the longest continuously-running quiz show ever. The program was created by Sophie Altman, who continued as executive producer until she died on May 24, 2008. Mac McGarry has hosted the Washington shows since the beginning. The Baltimore show is currently hosted by David Zahren. The show features three local high school teams of three players each. Over the years, chief sponsor Giant Food has given more than $2,000,000 in scholarship funds to participating schools.

The single elimination tournament features 81 schools in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region, 81 schools in the Baltimore metropolitan region (including western Maryland and the Eastern Shore), and 9 schools in the Central Virginia region. The winners in each region go on to battle each other in the Super Bowl. The record-high score of 935 is held by Centennial High School in Ellicott City, Maryland, achieved in 2000.

Under the name "Academic Challenge," the quiz has also been produced on WEWS in Cleveland since the 1960's. Pittsburgh area schools compete on KDKA-TV, where the series is called "Hometown Hi-Q Quiz." KDKA news anchor Ken Rice is the host.

"It's Academic" is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running quiz program in TV history. This title was first entered in the 50th anniversary edition of the Guinness Book.

Contents

Format

Each contest is composed of 5 rounds:

Round 1

Category round with 8 questions all centered around a theme such as "the letter B" or "famous paintings." The questions do not appear on the players' monitors but do appear for the viewing audience.

Round 2

Each team is asked 5 directed questions for 20 points each.

Round 3

Toss-up visual round. The monitor displays an image and the host provides a question accompanying the image. 10 points for each correct answer, 10 off for each incorrect answer. Eight questions are used.

Round 4

The captain of each team introduces the sponsors and administrators. There are three question packets to choose from. The team to the immediate left of the team that is supposed to answer chooses which packet the answering team gets. 8 questions are given to each team, with 20 points for a correct answer and no penalties. A 25 point bonus is given if all 8 are correct, for a total of 185 points in this round.

Round 5 (Grab Bag)

Toss-up questions. 20 points are given for correct answers, and 20 points are taken off for incorrect answers. Visual questions are 30 points for correct answers and 30 points off for incorrect answers. The number of questions varies depending on the time left in the game. The game ends when the buzzer sounds.

Conclusion

After the host has announced the teams' final scores, he invites the studio audience down from the stands to join the contestants on camera during the closing credit sequence. The song heard under the credit roll is "T.L.C. (Tender Loving Care)" by the band MFSB.

Guest Questions

Beginning in 2008, "It's Academic" telecasts on the WRC-TV version have included "guest questions" from notable persons in government business, sports, and the arts. Among those seen in pre-recorded videos are:

Spin-offs

Many teams participating in It's Academic are also active in the Washington region's quiz bowl circuit.

An Australian version of the show aired on Network Ten and the Seven Network from 1968–1975, and was revived by Seven's Perth affiliate in 2001. Seven took the show national in 2005. (http://au.tv.yahoo.com/b/its-academic/)

A version was also screened in New Zealand by TVNZ in the 1980s, with Lockwood Smith as the host.

WNBC-TV in New York aired a local edition of It's Academic from the mid-1960s through about 1971, hosted most of the time by Art James, with Lee Leonard filling in for a year.

WNBQ in Chicago had a version in the 1960s and 1970s under the "It's Academic" name, hosted by Ed Grennan.

WLWT and WCET in Cincinnati aired a local It's Academic from the late 1960s into the 1980s.

A similar competition aired in Columbus, Ohio under the title In The Know. It began in 1966 on WBNS television and later moved to WOSU, a PBS affiliate, where it still airs today.

A version of It's Academic aired on WBEN-TV in Buffalo in the 1960s and 1970s, hosted by sportscaster Van Miller. It was later revived for a few months in 2008 by WGRZ-TV, with Kevin O'Neill as host.

A show using the It's Academic name aired in Richmond, Virginia in the 1970s, but that has been replaced by Battle of the Brains. Battle of the Brains has also replaced a version of It's Academic that aired in Hampton Roads.

The World Affairs Council, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State, hosted an'It's Academic International event in 2002, also hosted by Mac McGarry.

In 2007, the game Brainstorm was introduced to Arizona. It featured 21 teams for its inaugural season.

KPRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Houston, Texas, had their own version of It's Academic called the Texaco Star Academic Challenge. The show left KPRC-TV and would eventually be retitled The Challenge, airing on one of Houston's public access cable channels and KTBU Channel 55.

KRGV-TV in Weslaco, Texas has aired their own version of It's Academic for many years, entitled Masterminds.

Notable contestants

Notable figures who have competed on It's Academic include:


Other notable participants:

Champions

(Note: bold denotes Super Bowl Champions)

Year Winners
1972 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
Baltimore: Gilman School
1973 Baltimore: Randallstown High School
Washington: Bethesda Chevy Chase High School
1974 Washington: Herndon High School
Baltimore: Randallstown High School
1975 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
Baltimore: Randallstown High School
1976 Washington: Northwood High School
1977 Washington: Bethesda Chevy Chase High School
1978 Washington: Northwood High School
1979 Washington: Bethesda Chevy Chase High School
1980 Baltimore: Randallstown High School
1981 Washington: Holton-Arms School
1982 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
1983 Washington: Bethesda Chevy Chase High School
Baltimore: Dulaney High School
1984 Baltimore: Dulaney High School
Washington: Rockville High School
1985 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
Baltimore: Dulaney High School
1986 Washington: Bethesda Chevy Chase High School
Baltimore: Wilde Lake High School
1987 Washington: Bethesda Chevy Chase High School
Baltimore: Wilde Lake High School
1988 Baltimore: Dulaney High School
Washington: Walt Whitman High School
1989 Washington: Georgetown Day School
Central Virginia: Thomas Jefferson High School
Baltimore: Dulaney High School
1990 Baltimore: Oakland Mills High School
Washington: Rockville High School
Central Virginia: St. Anne's-Belfield School
1991 Baltimore: Dulaney High School
Washington: Walt Whitman High School
1992 Baltimore: Wilde Lake High School
Washington: Thomas Jefferson High School
1993 Washington: Thomas Jefferson
Baltimore: Gilman School
1994 Washington: Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Central Virginia: Woodberry Forest School
1995 Washington: Montgomery Blair High School
Central Virginia: Woodberry Forest School
1996 Washington: Georgetown Day School
Central Virginia: Woodberry Forest School
Baltimore: Mount Saint Joseph
1997 Washington: Georgetown Day School
Baltimore: Oakland Mills High School
1998 Washington: Gonzaga College High School
Baltimore: Hammond High School
1999 Washington: Rockville High School
Baltimore: Towson High School
2000 Baltimore: Howard High School
Washington: Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Central Virginia: Robert E. Lee High School
2001 Washington: Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Baltimore: Howard High School
2002 Baltimore: Howard High School
Washington: Holton-Arms School
2003 Washington: Holton-Arms School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
2004 Baltimore: Howard High School
Washington: Richard Montgomery High School
2005 Washington: Walter Johnson High School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
Central Virginia: Robert E. Lee High School
2006 Washington: Richard Montgomery High School
Baltimore: Hammond High School
Central Virginia: Charlottesville High School
2007 Washington: Walter Johnson High School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
Central Virginia: Robert E. Lee High School
2008 Washington: Rockville High School
Baltimore: Mount Saint Joseph
Central Virginia: Charlottesville High School
2009 Baltimore: Centennial High School
Washington: Montgomery Blair High School
Central Virginia: Charlottesville High School

References

External links


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