University of Kansas Debate program named best in nation

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Debate program was identified as the No. 1 debate program in the country in a 2026 ranking of the “Top 50 Competitive College Debate Programs in the U.S.”

American Liberty Media publishes the annual ranking, weighing factors such as competitive opportunity, competitive success, coaching staff, resources, historical success in competitive debate and program prestige. This ranking is based on a comparison of schools that compete in all different types of debate.

“We are very proud of this recognition of KU Debate as among the best in the country. This is a testament to the historic and recent success of the program, the commitment of our alumni, and the institutional support that the university and the Student Senate have provided for the debate team,” said Scott Harris, the David B. Pittaway Director of KU Debate.

The top 10 teams from the 2026 rankings:

1. The University of Kansas
2. Emory University
3. The University of Chicago
4. The University of California-Berkeley
5. Mississippi State University
6. Rice University
7. Yale University
8. The University of Michigan
9. George Washington University
10. Louisiana State University-Shreveport.

From the Big 12, the University of Utah is ranked No. 17, while Baylor University is ranked 18^th.

The ranking includes teams that compete in the American Debate Association, American Parliamentary Debate Association, British Parliamentary, Public Forum, Lincoln-Douglas, Cross Examination Debate Association, International Public Debate Association and the National Parliamentary Debate Association.

American Liberty Media staffers spend thousands of hours researching, speaking with coaches and debaters, observing debate tournaments and gathering input from debate professionals around the country, according to the organization.     

This past year, KU Debate provided opportunities for 53 students to compete, won seven tournaments, including the Cross Examination Debate Association National Championship, was in the semifinals of American Debate Association Championship, had the second-ranked team in the country in the National Debate Tournament season rankings, had four teams ranked in the top-20 policy teams in the country, had three teams in the Sweet 16 of the National Debate Tournament and placed two teams in the semifinals of the Honors Division at the Yaatly British Parliamentary Debate Championship tournament.

Brett Bricker, the head coach and associate director of KU Debate, received national Coach of the Year awards from both the National Debate Tournament and the American Debate Association in 2026. He was also recognized as the debate judge of the year by the ADA.

Last week, KU hosted an alumni reunion and held a banner-hanging ceremony on the fourth floor of Bailey Hall to recognize recent and historic success of the program. In addition to hanging banners for last year’s championships, the program hung banners to recognize previous national championships.

This reunion was partly to honor the 50^th anniversary of Robert Rowland of the KU Department of Communication Studies and his partner, Frank Cross, winning both the National Debate Tournament and the Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha National Debate Championship in 1976. DSR-TKA was a national speech and debate honorary society that held a national championship debate tournament at which KU competed from 1972 to 1992. The squad hung banners to recognize the seven DSR-TKA National championships that KU won in 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1991.

KU Debate has now won 14 national debate championships, including six National Debate Tournament championships, seven DSR-TKA National Championships and one Cross Examination Debate Associational National Championship in 2026. 

KU Debate will compete at 12 tournaments this fall, beginning Sept. 12-14 at Northwestern University.