GREENEVILLE – Tusculum University has demonstrated considerable support for scholar’s bowl competitions for middle school and high school students by hosting them annually on campus.
Taylor Chen, second from the right in the foreground, competes at the Tusculum Earlybird in 2025.
Dr. Chuck Pearson, left, prepares to help run a game at the Tusculum Earlybird.
Now, the university is expanding its connection by providing funding and coaching to support a team of students from communities throughout Tennessee. Team Tennessee, which will consist of 10 players, will seek to win the National All-Star Academic Tournament that will be held Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28, at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
“This is a great opportunity to assist talented students, who are demonstrating tremendous aptitude with academic and pop culture knowledge,” said Dr. Chuck Pearson, assistant dean of math and science at Tusculum, who is serving as one of Team Tennessee’s coaches. “We want to develop academic competition in Tennessee at all levels, and backing Team Tennessee is an excellent way to demonstrate that commitment. We look forward to fostering additional academic growth in these students.”
Dr. Pearson, who has held multiple leadership roles in quiz bowl competitions, said he has wanted to assemble the best pre-college players in Tennessee as a team ever since he joined the Tusculum family in 2016.
Two of the students who are now part of Team Tennessee – Carson Tidwell of Merrol Hyde Magnet School in Hendersonville and Liam Mooney from University School of Nashville – broached the idea of this all-star team to Dr. Eric Mukherjee, who serves as the coach of the quiz bowl team at USN. That group then reached out to Dr. Pearson because of his extensive involvement in quiz bowl in East Tennessee and his potential ability to line up additional players for the team. He was more than happy to help.
Dr. Pearson and Dr. Mukherjee picked the team, and Dr. Pearson worked on the process of securing financial support for the team’s activities. Tusculum’s Division of Math and Science is providing funding for the registration fee, meals and student attire for the Virginia Commonwealth event. Dr. Pearson and Dr. Mukherjee are coaching the team.
This is a logo for shirts the team will wear.
Members of the quiz bowl team from University School of Nashville pose with Dr. Mukherjee, right, following an earlier competition. Most of the students in the photo are members of Team Tennessee.
Dr. Pearson said Team Tennessee features 10 of the top 20 quiz bowl players in the state. Nine of them participated in either the Tennessee Individual Player Championship in Cookeville or at a second chance qualifying event conducted online. One of the team members is Taylor Chen, a student at Avery Trace Middle School in Cookeville, who was the top scorer at a Tusculum Earlybird, the quiz bowl tournament held on the university’s campus in the fall.
Six of the players on the team come from USN and one apiece come from Merrol Hyde, Avery Trace, Collierville High School and DeKalb County High School. They have prepared for the Virginia Commonwealth competition through online practices.
Team Tennessee is split into two groups, and their membership is as follows:
- Tennessee Orange: Cherry Balusulapalem, Collierville; Evan Giles – USN; Liam Mooney, USN; Carson Tidwell, Merrol Hyde; and Arlo Williamson, USN
- Tennessee Gold: Taylor Chen, Avery Trace; Jackson Green, USN; Emma Horwitz, USN; Mason Lack, USN; and Kyle Zdancewicz, DeKalb County
“They are delving into questions that would be posed in collegiate competitions,” Dr. Pearson said. “Even the eighth grader is practicing the kinds of questions he would answer in a sectional collegiate championship. These are high-caliber students who will represent Tennessee admirably.”
Anyone with questions can email Dr. Pearson at cpearson@tusculum.edu.