7) How did CB start? (College Bowl)
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This article is from the College Bowl FAQ, by George Atendido aten0001@tc.umn.edu with numerous contributions by others.
7) How did CB start? (College Bowl)
"College Bowl was created by Don Reid." Started on Radio in 1953, ended on
television in 1970 (after giving up an afternoon slot for a shot at prime
time as a summer replacement series), continued on CBS Radio with Art
Fleming as host until about 1983. Its main TV sponsor was General Electric.
Of its three TV hosts, Allen Ludden was its most famous.
Until 1977, teams played whomever was scheduled to appear next week.
A team that won five consecutive games was proclaimed an undefeated
champion, given a silver bowl, and, during the television era, banned
from further TV appearances for three years. The national champion format
started with the joint venture with ACUI around 1977. This format has
been televised once by NBC and for two years by Disney.
There has been talk from time to time about taking CB to an international
level, but the last time this happened was in 1979, when national champs
Davidson College took on the English champs. Some suspect that American
colleges would have a hard time competing against many foreign schools,
whose students tend to be both older and more experienced in their fields
than their American counterparts.
(Mostly after Craig Leff)
There is an English counterpart to CB. It's called University Challenge,
and it airs on Granada Television. It had been on hiatus, but now it's
back, though the long-time host Bamber Gascoigne is not. Why he is not
back is not explained, but the new host is Jeremy Paxman, a well-liked
newsman and interviewer. For more information on game play in University
Challenge, see the section on the _University Challenge Quiz Book_ in
Question 15.
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