It's Academic

It's Academic is the name for a number of televised academic student quiz shows for high school students through the United States and internationally. It's Academic programs have notably aired on NBC-owned WRC-TV (and, as of October 29, 2022, PBS member station WETA-TV) in Washington, D.C., NBC affiliate WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, Virginia, and CBS-owned WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland.

It's Academic being taped in historic Studio A at NBC-owned WRC-TV in Washington, DC on December 12, 2009
Mac McGarry hosts It's Academic in Washington DC on December 12, 2009

The Washington, D.C. version of the show has been on the air since October 7, 1961, and is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the longest-running quiz program in TV history.[1] The program was created for WRC by Sophie Altman, who continued as executive producer until her death on May 24, 2008. Mac McGarry hosted the Washington shows from the beginning until June 25, 2011. Hillary Howard, a news anchor for Washington radio station WTOP-FM, took over as host subsequent to McGarry's official retirement in November 2011.[2] The program is sponsored by philanthropist investor David Rubenstein and by the McLean, Virginia-based Mitre Corporation.[3]

Format

The single-elimination tournament features 81 schools in the Washington metropolitan area, 81 schools in the Baltimore metropolitan area (including Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore), and nine schools in the Central Virginia region. The winners in each region go on to battle each other in the Super Bowl.

Each contest is composed of five rounds. Round 1 is a category round with eight themed questions (e.g. "the letter B" or "famous paintings"). Questions do not appear on the players' monitors but do appear for the home viewers. Each team is given 100 points before this round and teams receive 10 points for each correct answer and lose 10 for each incorrect answer.

In Round 2, each team is individually asked five questions and receive 20 points each for a correct answer, but do not lose points for an incorrect answer.

Round 3 is a toss-up visual round. The monitor displays an image and the host provides a question accompanying the image. Teams receive 20 points for each correct answer and lose 20 for each incorrect answer (10 until April 19, 2014 in Washington, Baltimore, and starting with the 2014 season in Charlottesville; other cities' visual rounds are still 10 points up or down). Eight questions are used. The fourth question is always a math question.

Before Round 4 the captain of each team introduces the sponsors and school administrators and coaches. Teams then select from three question packets. The team to the immediate left of the team that is supposed to answer chooses which packet the answering team will use. Eight questions are given to each team, with 20 points for a correct answer and no penalties. A 25-point bonus is given if a team correctly answers all eight questions, for a total of 185 points in this round. The fourth question is always a science question and the seventh question is always a math question (data from both those questions are displayed on the monitor or team's screen).

Round 5 features quick-fire toss-up questions, each worth +/-20 points. Visual questions are worth +/-30 points. The number of questions varies depending on the time left in the game. The game ends when the buzzer sounds, home viewers may realize that the game will come to a close while the countdown clock appears on the television screen. If a team has buzzed in prior the buzzer sounding, the team is required to answer the question before the game is considered over. If there is a tie in the knockout round (e.g. the final), the presenter may ask one last tie-breaker question to determine the winner.

After the host has announced the teams' final scores, the studio audience is invited down from the stands to join the contestants on camera during the closing credit sequence. In the Washington version from about 1976 to June 2017, the song heard under the credit roll (if there are no musicians from any of the competing schools) was "T.L.C. (Tender Loving Care)" by the band MFSB (a new theme was introduced in Washington for the 2017–18 season, entitled "Just Let Go", by Marti Amado and Ron Bolton, music production by Network Music which is used throughout the show).

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, later episodes in the 2019–2020 season were played in a remote format, with teams in separate locations, and without buzzers. Teams were recorded separately, and were not aware of other teams' scores. The competition will return to the studio in late winter/early spring 2023.[4]

Discontinued rounds

Prior to the adoption of the current format, there were several other formats of play.

Category round

The "very fast"[5] category round consisted of questions pertaining to the same category. In some cases, the question was the same throughout the round: teams were given different items, and had to answer the common question on the basis of each item (e.g., given a state, name either senator from that state[6]). In other cases, all the answers in the category round shared an announced characteristic in common (e.g., geographical locations whose names begin and end with "A"[5]). Teams used their buzzers in this round, earning 10 points for a correct answer, but losing 10 points[6] (later 20 points[5]) for wrong answers.

Timed round

In all forms, a team individually answers questions from a packet within a time limit. In one form, at the beginning of the game, teams get one minute to answer questions for 20 points each. In this form, teams are not penalized for wrong answers, in order to help the teams in "building score".[7] In another form, teams have one and a half minutes to answer questions for 20 points each. However, 20 points are deducted for a wrong answer. Teams may pass a question, losing 10 points; however, the other two teams may buzz-in to answer the passed questions (with a few exceptions) for plus or minus 20 points after the time runs out for the team's turn. Every question that is fully read must be answered or passed within a reasonable time. However, if a question is not finished when time expires, the team may reject it without penalty or answer the question at their own risk. In this form, getting all 10 questions (later eight) correct originally earned the team a 50-point bonus, later reduced to 25.[5][7][8]

Scrimmage round

A "scrimmage round" was once used during the 1977–78 Buffalo season championship, as well as in Washington and Baltimore through much of the 1970s, and also in Cleveland at about that time. Teams were instructed to "use [their] lights and buzzers" for a "one-minute scrimmage round." 10 points were scored for a correct answer, with no penalties.[9]

Guest questions

Beginning in 2008, telecasts on the WRC-TV version have included "guest questions" from notable persons in government, business, sports, and the arts. Among those seen in pre-recorded videos are:

Spin-offs

It's Academic show at WMAQ-TV in 1967. The team is from Chicago's Kennedy High School.

An Australian version of the show aired on Network 10 and the Seven Network from 1968 to 1975, and was revived by Seven's Perth affiliate in 2001. Seven took the show national in 2005.[10][11]

A New Zealand version was also screened by TVNZ in the 1980s, with Lockwood Smith and John Hayden as hosts.

WNBC in New York aired a local edition of It's Academic from September 15, 1963[12] through July 1, 1972,[13] hosted most of the time by Art James, with Lee Leonard filling in for a year.

WMAQ-TV in Chicago had a version in the 1960s and 1970s under the It's Academic name, hosted by Ed Grennan. The show debuted on September 29, 1962, with Arlington High School facing off against Homewood-Flossmoor High School.[14]

WLWT, WCPO-TV and WCET in Cincinnati aired a local It's Academic from October 13, 1963 to May 30, 1982. The Cincinnati hosts included Dave Manning, Lloyd Baldwin, Steve Douglas and Claire Slemmer.

A version of It's Academic aired on WBEN-TV in Buffalo from January 27, 1968 through 1986. Initially hosted by legendary National Football League Hall of Fame radio broadcaster of the Buffalo Bills, Van Miller, the first season concluded on April 20, 1968. Under the leadership of Principal George Johengen, the first champions were from Lake Shore Central High School in Angola, New York. Team members were senior Gary Miller, senior Kevin Nelson, and junior Kathleen Nelson, brother and sister. They scored 300 points to defeat West Seneca High School (290 points) and Bishop Fallon High School (280 points). The show was later revived for a few months in 2008 by WGRZ, with Kevin O'Neill as host. The show returned to the area starting January 12, 2013 and is hosted by O'Neill and produced by Full Circle Studios for broadcast on NBC affiliate WGRZ.

A show using the It's Academic name aired in Richmond, Virginia on the NBC affiliate, WWBT Channel 12, from November 22, 1975 to June 26, 1976 (the Richmond championship aired on May 16, 1976), which was also hosted by Mac McGarry and sponsored by Giant. That was replaced by Battle of the Brains. Battle of the Brains has also replaced a version of It's Academic that aired in Hampton Roads.

The World Affairs Council, in conjunction with the United States Department of State, hosted an It's Academic International event in 2002, also hosted by Mac McGarry.

KHII-TV in Honolulu aired a local version titled It's Academic Hawaii hosted by Billy V (from Hawaii News Now-Sunrise). It was previously hosted by Rick Hamada and Keahi Tucker.

WEWS in Cleveland has had a version of the series since 1964. It was originally titled It's Academic and hosted by Don Cameron. In 1972, the series changed its name to Academic Challenge with host Don Webster, later replaced by Lou Maglio; the series later reverted to its former title during the mid-1990s, at which time Webster also returned as emcee. After a 35 consecutive year run and a brief hiatus, Academic Challenge returned to the WEWS airwaves in 2003 with host Adam Shapiro. Danita Harris hosted the 2006 season; from 2007 to 2016, Jason Nicholas was the host, succeeded by Hakem Dermish in December 2016 after Nicholas left WEWS.[15] Dermish was succeeded by WCPN host Rick Jackson on April 28, 2018 after Dermish left WEWS for CBS Sports in New York, while Jackson was subsequently replaced by Rob Powers for the 2019 season.[16]

While not a spinoff, the UK has a similar series, University Challenge, which has been on air since 1962, making it only slightly younger than It's Academic. It was featured in the British sitcom The Young Ones where one of the characters, Adrian, used a Stielhandgranate against another university team.[17]

Notable contestants

Notable people who have competed on It's Academic include:

Other notable participants:

In 1979, a charity special was held between a team of three Democratic senators (Patrick Moynihan, Lloyd Bentsen, and Alan Cranston), three Republican senators (Lowell Weicker, John Danforth, and John Heinz), and three members of the press (Jessica Savitch, Art Buchwald, and David Broder). The special was handily won by the press team.[20]

Champions

(Note: bold denotes Super Bowl Champions (since 1972).)

YearWinners
1961 Washington: St. Albans School
1963 Washington: Oxon Hill High School
1964 Washington: Oxon Hill High School
1965 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
Cleveland: Magnificat High School
1966 Cincinnati: Wyoming High School
1967 New York, NY: Plainview - Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School
Cincinnati: Walnut Hills High School
1968 Washington: Fairfax High School
Buffalo, NY: Lake Shore Central High School, Angola, New York
1969 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
Cincinnati: Purcell High School
1972 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
Baltimore: Gilman School
New York, NY St. Anthony's High School, Smithtown, NY
Chicago: Joliet East High School
1973 Baltimore: Randallstown High School
Washington: Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Cleveland: West Geauga High School
1974 Washington: Herndon High School
Baltimore: Randallstown High School
Cleveland: Barberton High School (Ohio)
1975 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
Baltimore: Randallstown High School
1976 Washington: Northwood High School
Baltimore: Archbishop Curley High School
Richmond, VA: Collegiate School
Buffalo: Mount Saint Mary Academy
1977 Washington: Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
1978 Washington: Northwood High School
Buffalo: Nichols School
1979 Washington: Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Baltimore: Franklin High School (Reisterstown, Maryland)
Buffalo: Grand Island High School
Cincinnati: St. Xavier High School
1980 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
Baltimore: Randallstown High School
Buffalo: Iroquois Central School District
Cincinnati: St. Xavier High School
1981 Washington: Holton-Arms School
Cincinnati: St. Xavier High School
1982 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
1983 Washington: Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Baltimore: Dulaney High School
1984 Baltimore: Dulaney High School
Washington: Rockville High School
1985 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
Baltimore: Dulaney High School
Buffalo: Williamsville East High School
1986 Washington: Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Baltimore: Wilde Lake High School
1987 Washington: Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Baltimore: Wilde Lake High School
Central Virginia: St. Anne's-Belfield School
1988 Baltimore: Dulaney High School
Washington: Walt Whitman High School

Buffalo: West Seneca West Senior High School

1989 Washington: Georgetown Day School
Central Virginia: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Baltimore: Dulaney High School
1990 Baltimore: Oakland Mills High School
Washington: Rockville High School
Central Virginia: St. Anne's-Belfield School
1991 Baltimore: Dulaney High School
Washington: Walt Whitman High School
1992 Baltimore: Wilde Lake High School
Washington: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
1993 Washington: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Baltimore: Gilman School
1994 Baltimore: Linganore High School
Washington: Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Central Virginia: Woodberry Forest School
1995 Washington: Montgomery Blair High School
Central Virginia: Woodberry Forest School
1996 Washington: Georgetown Day School
Central Virginia: Woodberry Forest School
Baltimore: Mount Saint Joseph High School
1997 Washington: Georgetown Day School
Baltimore: Oakland Mills High School
Central Virginia: Charlottesville High School
Cleveland: Lakewood High School
1998 Washington: Gonzaga College High School
Baltimore: Hammond High School
1999 Washington: Rockville High School
Baltimore: Towson High School
Cleveland: Copley High School
2000 Baltimore: Howard High School
Washington: Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Central Virginia: Staunton High School
2001 Washington: Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Baltimore: Howard High School
2002 Baltimore: Howard High School
Washington: Holton-Arms School
Pittsburgh: Ringgold High School
2003 Washington: Holton-Arms School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
2004 Baltimore: Howard High School
Washington: Richard Montgomery High School
Cleveland: Solon High School
2005 Washington: Walter Johnson High School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
Central Virginia: Staunton High School
Cleveland: Solon High School
2006 Washington: Richard Montgomery High School
Baltimore: Hammond High School
Central Virginia: Charlottesville High School
Cleveland: Copley High School
2007 Washington: Walter Johnson High School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
Central Virginia: Staunton High School
Cleveland: Gilmour Academy
2008 Washington: Rockville High School
Baltimore: Mount Saint Joseph High School
Central Virginia: Charlottesville High School
Cleveland: Hawken School
Pittsburgh: Shady Side Academy
Buffalo, NY: Iroquois Central School District
2009 Baltimore: Centennial High School
Washington: Montgomery Blair High School
Central Virginia: Charlottesville High School
Cleveland: Archbishop Hoban High School
Pittsburgh: Uniontown Area High School
2010 Washington: Rockville High School
Central Virginia: Charlottesville High School
Baltimore: Gilman School
Cleveland: Copley High School
Pittsburgh: Hampton High School
2011 Washington: Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School
Baltimore: Walkersville High School
Central Virginia: Rappahannock County High School
Cleveland: St. Edward High School
2012 Washington: James Hubert Blake High School
Baltimore: Catonsville High School
Central Virginia: Louisa County High School
Cleveland: Firestone Community Learning Center
Pittsburgh: Winchester Thurston School
Hawaii: Waiakea High School
2013 Washington: James Hubert Blake High School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
Central Virginia: Orange County High School
Cleveland: Twinsburg High School
Buffalo, NY: Williamsville East High School
Hawaii: Punahou School
2014 Washington: James Hubert Blake High School
Baltimore: James M. Bennett High School
Central Virginia: Charlottesville High School
Cleveland: Cloverleaf High School
Buffalo, NY: Williamsville East High School
2015 Washington: James Hubert Blake High School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
Central Virginia: Rappahannock County High School
Cleveland: Berea-Midpark High School
2016 Washington: Walt Whitman High School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
Central Virginia: Staunton High School
Cleveland: Solon High School
2017 Washington: Montgomery Blair High School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
Central Virginia: Kettle Run High School
Cleveland: Lakewood High School
Hawaii: Kaiser High School
2018 Washington: Montgomery Blair High School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
Central Virginia: Stuarts Draft High School
Cleveland: Westlake High School
2019 Washington: Montgomery Blair High School
Baltimore: Walkersville High School
Central Virginia: Kettle Run High School
Cleveland: Revere High School
2020 Washington: Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Baltimore: Centennial High School
Central Virginia: Fauquier High School
2021 Washington: James Hubert Blake High School
Baltimore: Howard High School
Central Virginia: Western Albemarle High School
2022 Washington: McLean High School
Cleveland: Avon Lake High School
2023 Washington: McLean High School

References

  1. "Longest running TV quiz show". Guinness World Records.
  2. "WTOP | Washington's Top News | DC, MD & VA News, Traffic & Weather".
  3. Katz, Bonnie (10 Jul 2014). "Blake High School sets an academic record". The Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  4. Meyer, Jacob Calvin. "Centennial High School wins first virtual 'It's Academic' competition for Baltimore region". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  5. WRC-TV (Washington) in association with Altman Productions. 23rd season premiere. It's Academic. Presented by Mac McGarry. Featuring Churchill, Mount Vernon and Northwestern. Original airdate 1983-09-25.
  6. WIVB-TV (Buffalo) in association with Altman Productions. 1978–79 championship. It's Academic Presented by Van Miller. Featuring Grand Island, Iroquois, and Jamestown. Original airdate 1979.
  7. WIVB-TV (Buffalo) in association with Altman Productions. It's Academic Presented by Van Miller. Featuring Williamsville East, Bishop Timon, and Salamanca Central. Original airdate 1981.
  8. Altman Productions. It's Academic Presented by Mac McGarry. Featuring Albemarle, St. Anne's-Belfield, and Madison County. Original airdate 1988.
  9. WIVB-TV (Buffalo) in association with Altman Productions. 1977–78 championship. It's Academic Presented by Van Miller. Featuring Nichols, Lancaster, and Williamsville East. Original airdate 1978.
  10. "Yahoo Australia | News, email and search".
  11. "History".
  12. "Television Programs". New York Times. Sep 15, 1963. p. 146.
  13. "Television". New York Times. Jul 1, 1972. p. 49.
  14. Wolters, Larry (1962-09-17). "Teen-Agers to Match Wits in Quiz Series". Chicago Tribune.
  15. "Academic Challenge". WEWS. E. W. Scripps Company. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  16. "Academic Challenge".
  17. Denham, Jess (9 June 2015). "Rik Mayall death anniversary: Funniest moments from Blackadder to The Young Ones | Features | Culture". The Independent. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  18. Horowitz, Jason (2010-05-21). "Sen. Chuck Schumer is positioned to be the Senate majority leader". ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  19. Stryker, Michael (2020). "Chance and Choice: Recollections of a life in science" (PDF). The History of Neuroscience in Autobiography. 11: 372–423.
  20. Campbell, Gail A. (1989-12-14). "Quick! Hit the Buzzer! Who Is Mac McGarry?". Washington Times. Both Mrs. Altman and Mr. McGarry point to a special charity version of It's Academic they did 10 years ago...That show pitted three Republican senators and three Democratic senators against the press. Republicans Lowell Weicker of Connecticut, John Danforth of Missouri and H.J. Heinz III of Pennsylvania got more points than Democrats Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, Lloyd Bentsen of Texas and Alan Cranston of California, but the press still won. The late Jessica Savitch, Art Buchwald and Washington Post political columnist David Broder handily whipped the pols...
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