UCSD - University of California - San Diego

04/29/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/29/2026 16:51

UC San Diego Debate Team Dominates with National and International Wins

Published Date

April 29, 2026

Article Content

Key Takeaways

  • UC San Diego's Speech & Debate team turned years of regional success into a breakout season on national and international stages.
  • University support helped students travel farther, compete more broadly and earn major wins.
  • The team has grown into a large, diverse and close-knit community that gives students friendship, leadership and belonging.
  • Students say debate sharpens critical thinking, communication and confidence - skills that carry beyond the classroom, careers and everyday life.

What does it mean to win a debate? In competition, it means proving that your position is better supported, better defended and more persuasive than your opponent's - all in a matter of minutes, in front of a live audience and a panel of judges. For many Americans, that might sound terrifying. But for members of UC San Diego's Speech and Debate Team, it is what they work toward all year long - and this year, they have a string of major wins to show for it.

Backed by university support from Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla and alumni, the team traveled farther than before and returned with a string of major wins. They won first in debate sweepstakes at the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament in Springfield, Missouri, first in overall sweepstakes at the International Public Debate Association National Championship Tournament in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and helped the U.S. team edge the United Kingdom in the Montgomery Cup debate tour at universities in England and Scotland.

"Our experience has been that if you give us the resources, we can win any competition we go to," said Lillian Theis, team president and third year student who will graduate this spring with a degree in political science. "But being part of the team is more than the trophies themselves. What made this year special was being able to travel to competitions and finally prove what we're capable of on a national stage - it was really meaningful."

The Speech and Debate Team officially became recognized in 2023 as a communications course sequence that gives students the chance to earn academic credit while competing. But for members of the team, the experience transcends academic credits - it gives them leadership, critical thinking and social skills all while they learn to stay composed under pressure.

It's more than a team - it's a community and circle of friends

In his first meeting as UC San Diego's new coach and academic coordinator, Arthur "AJ" Edwards Jr. saw nearly 200 students show up to learn more about the team. Throughout the year, the program maintained roughly 125 to 150 students - a large and unusually broad cross-section of campus life.

Students come from majors across the university, from political science and history to computer science and other STEM fields. Many are pre-law. Many are international students. Together, they form a team that is not just large, but notably interdisciplinary, diverse and social.

For Brian Masse, a third-year student in Warren College double majoring in computer science and political science, joining the team was a chance to combine his love of learning with his competitive side - and it became central to his academic, professional and social life.

"It has radically changed my experience as a student, almost entirely for the better," he said. "I joined and almost instantly got hooked. Getting the chance to compete - and to see how well you can perform - makes you want to come back to the next tournament, and the next one after that. Very quickly, the debate team became central to my UC San Diego experience."

Image created with AI/chat GPT
Sibi Sivaram often wore a sea turtle necklace and after his passing and the sea turtle became an unofficial symbol of remembrance for the team. When UC San Diego hosted a tournament this year, the medals and trophies were shaped like sea turtles.

Sibi Sivaram's memory lives on with the team

In the middle of a season marked by extraordinary success, the team also experienced profound loss. In November 2025, students learned that longtime team member and leader Sibi Sivaram had died unexpectedly.

Edwards, the team's coach, said that Sivaram was the kind of student who seemed to know everyone. Whether someone had been on the team for a few weeks or a few years, that person almost certainly had a Sibi story. The night the news was shared, teammates spent hours together remembering him.

His memory remains deeply woven into the team's life. Sivaram often wore a sea turtle necklace and after his passing, the sea turtle became an unofficial symbol of remembrance. Team members began wearing sea turtle lapel pins at tournaments in his honor. When UC San Diego hosted a tournament this year, the medals and trophies were shaped like sea turtles.

The rituals are small, but meaningful. In a season defined by national recognition, they reveal something else about the team: its ability to show up for one another. The experience ultimately brought the team closer together.

For coach AJ Edwards, debate changes lives - including his own

This season also marked Edwards' first year leading the program at UC San Diego, but his connection to debate goes back much further.

Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, in a low-income household, Edwards said college did not always feel like a given. Debate changed that. He joined the activity in high school almost by chance, but quickly found in it a sense of purpose and possibility. It opened the door to college and eventually to the career he has now built around helping students find their voices.

That perspective shapes the way he approaches coaching. For Edwards, debate is not just about winning. It is about education, preparation and learning how to think. He wants students to understand how to debate, not just how to chase trophies, and he sees the activity as a pathway to confidence, adaptability and opportunity.

Edwards arrived at a moment when the program already had strong foundations, and with additional university support and travel funding, he helped students translate years of regional success into national recognition. But he is quick to put the credit on the students themselves and the work they put in to prepare.

Speech and Debate Team members wearing their tournament awards in honor of Sibi Siviram after the first-ever Cove Classic tournament hosted on the campus of UC San Diego.

The real work of debate - and why it matters now

Success in debate requires much more than speaking quickly or sounding confident. Edwards said the most important qualities are flexibility, critical thinking and the ability to adapt in real time.

"There are so many times that you walk into a debate round expecting it to go one way and very quickly it goes in a very different direction," he said. "More than anything, debate teaches critical thinking and adaptation."

Students must learn to research thoroughly, respond under pressure and explain complicated ideas clearly to many different kinds of audiences. That last skill, Edwards said, may be one of the most important of all.

"The number one skill that most employers are looking for is often the ability to communicate complex ideas in a very simple manner," he said.

Edwards is also deliberate about what students do not use to prepare: artificial intelligence. He has a firm rule against relying on AI for debate prep, saying students need to research and build arguments themselves if they are truly going to understand and defend them. When students construct an argument on their own, they are better able to think flexibly, respond ethically and adapt when a round takes an unexpected turn.

Edwards said that students not only sharpen their public speaking, but also build interpersonal skills, learn to navigate team dynamics and experience meaningful cultural exchange with competitors from other schools, states and countries.

Theis agrees. "It helped me build confidence, empathy and the ability to advocate for myself and for others. The skills I gained here were really unique," she said. "Beyond that, I have made so many friends and the student coaches and the community really helped me. That's why I wanted to be president this year: to give back."

The team after the International Public Debate Association (IPDA) nationals when the team won 1st place overall. Coach Arthur "AJ" Edwards Jr. is in the center of the photo holding the trophy.

For students curious about joining, just try

For students who assume debate is only for extroverts, seasoned public speakers or future lawyers, Edwards offers a simple message: just try it.

Joining the team does not mean a student has to jump immediately into competition. There are many ways to be involved, many ways to learn and many ways to build community. For some, it starts with one round under low pressure and grows from there.

"What I would tell them is to simply come check the team out," Edwards said. "Just because you are on the team doesn't mean that you have to debate. There's a lot of different roles that people can take and still be very active within the team, and get the community, get the camaraderie that happens within the team in a lot of different ways."

He encourages nervous students not to wait until they feel fearless. Confidence, he suggests, often comes after the first step, not before it.

"I used to have a student that would literally vomit before and after every single round," Edwards said. "They were that scared and that anxious and they went on to be in the top five in the nation. So, I've seen people use it as a way to overcome that anxiety and I think the best part about debate is that it does teach you how to be more confident in those skills."

His other advice is simple: if students are curious, give debate a try.

For UC San Diego's Speech and Debate Team, that willingness to try has led to national titles, international competition and a breakthrough season. But for the students who are part of the team, it's been about what they have found along the way: a place to belong, a challenge that changed them and a community that continues to grow.

UCSD - University of California - San Diego published this content on April 29, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 29, 2026 at 22:51 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]