Bowling Green, Ky. - The National Forensic League has opened a regional office at Western Kentucky University, home of national and international champion speech and debate teams.

The NFL regional office will provide assistance and support to high school students and coaches in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and southern Illinois.

“The organization wanted to put an office in this region to help students prepare for and advance to the national tournament,” said Tyler Billman, director of the NFL regional office.

The 2006 national tournament, held June 18-23 in Grapevine-Colleyville, Texas, attracted 2,700 students and 1,500 coaches, administrators and parents and awarded more than $130,000 in scholarships.

“Having the National Forensic League office at WKU speaks to the high level of academic quality that WKU has to offer in its forensics program in particular, and in the University as a whole,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Burch. “Not only will this office benefit WKU, but it will increase participation opportunities for high school students in the region.”

WKU is a sponsor at the NFL national tournament and provides scholarships for national winners, said Judy Woodring, director of the WKU forensic program.

“We’re one of the most involved universities in the United States with the National Forensic League,” she said. “The contact has been very important for the university as a whole and builds the national reputation of WKU.”

Billman, who grew up in Harrisburg, Ill., plans to visit schools and tournaments in the four-state region to raise awareness about the NFL’s speech and debate programs.
Hosting an NFL regional office “shows Western is there for students and supports activities that can often be overlooked at the high school level,” said Billman, a 2005 graduate of Bradley University who is pursuing his master’s degree at WKU.

The WKU forensic team, which swept major national and international titles in 2003, 2004 and 2006, has students from nearly all academic areas, Woodring said. “We’re an institution that recognizes academic excellence and our program helps attract high quality students who benefit the entire university not just forensics,” she said.

The forensic program, which includes the Kentucky High School Speech League office, is housed at the Garrett Conference Center.

Since its founding in 1925, the NFL has enrolled about 1.2 million members in all 50 states and other countries. More than 93,000 high school students and more than 3,500 high school teachers are active members.

Prominent NFL alumni include government leaders (President Lyndon Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Sen. Richard Lugar, Sen. William Frist, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer), media notables (Ted Turner, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Pauley, Brian Lamb), and TV/movie award winners (Kelsey Grammar, Shelly Long, Patricia Neal, Don Ameche).

“It really is a steppingstone to bigger and better things,” Billman said.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Judy Woodring or Tyler Billman at (270) 745-6340.

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