The six-time national champion Honda Campus All-Star Team of Florida A&M University put up a strong battle of wits in a brain bowl against the Department of Education but ultimately lost after going into a sudden death round.
Although the game was a nail-biter, it was designed to promote Black History Month.
The competition was Feb. 6 at the Eatz Café in the Turlington Building.
The topic for the game was famous people in black history.
“There’s a planning committee for the entire process and we sat down and started brainstorming about what activities we wanted to do throughout the month of Black History,” said Division of Community Colleges Communications Director Brooke Hobbs.
“We could have a good time with it but also educate DOE employees about the importance of African-American history.”
This is the first time DOE has participated in a brain bowl-type event. Hobbs said their hard work paid off.
“I think they were prepared,” she said. “The team has been practicing. They started right after the holiday and they’ve taken it upon themselves, in addition to their regular practices, to practice on their own. They wanted to win.”
Going up against the six-time national champion Rattlers might not have been so easy, but with both teams receiving study materials in advance, the competition leveled out.
“I thought the competition was excellent,” said FAMU All-Star Team Leader Alonzo Alexander, 25, a graduate physics student from Raleigh, N.C.
Alexander said he appreciated the effort his team put in but enjoyed the opportunity to learn more black history.
“I think that anything that brings to light the achievement of African-Americans and gives places like FAMU a chance to show the talents of African-Americans can’t be anything but positive,” he said.
After the bout, all the participants received certificates of participation, and the winning team was presented with a trophy.
“It was good to know all the information we had to learn, and it was good to go against a team that was nationally renowned and for us to win, it’s a great feat,” said DOE Facilitator Elan Pace. “This is the first year and we’re hoping to continue it every year.”
Coach of the FAMU team, Vivian Hobbs, said she was proud of both teams and thinks the event helped both teams in different ways.
“It was a win/win situation because it served as preparation for our invitational tournaments on Feb. 9 in Montgomery, Ala., at FAMU on Feb.16 and the national tournament in Orlando from March 27 through March 31,” Hobbs said.
“We are grateful to the State Department of Education for extending us this invitation.”