PRESS RELEASE: NAUDL debuts it’s National Sports Debate Program in Tulsa

Sara Sanchez, Director of Program & Communications, NAUDL.

June 5th, 2025- Attendees at Wednesday’s Sports Debate City Championship were blown away by the skills, knowledge and power of civic discourse demonstrated by the next generation of leaders from the Tulsa Debate League (TDL). The inspiring program was the latest offering from the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL) in partnership with the TDL.

This public debate featured students debating about the name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules for high school athletes in front of a panel of experts including: Russell Fisher, Associate Athletic Director for Compliance at the University of Tulsa. Brentom Todd, Deputy Chief of Staff for the City of Tulsa Mayor's Office. Rick Horrow, chairman of Horrow Sports Ventures and NAUDL Strategic Advisor for Sports Debate.

Horrow commented, “Debate has been a foundational underpinning of my life for the last 50 years, and now we have an opportunity to merge the passions and awareness of the sports industry to excite a whole new generation of debaters. As the sports business expands beyond $1.3 trillion, the topics are increasingly thought-provoking and complex. This national program provides an unparalleled opportunity to bring business, civic, political, and sports leaders into a larger network that will provide students perspective, career opportunities, and exciting topics with which to ‘agree to disagree’.”

Critically, this novel public debate program will introduce a wider audience of students to the benefits of public speaking and debate by combining the popularity of sports and culture with the rigor of academic competitive debate. Tuesday’s event launched the program that has been under development for a year. In the 2025-2026 school year Sports Debate will forge ahead with events in Oklahoma City and Dallas. As more cities join the series it will ultimately culminate in a new national championship in the coming years.

“This exciting new debate series brings the rhetorical power of the centuries-old practice of debate to the sports topics driving conversations in our communities,” said Sara Sanchez, Director of Programs and Communications at NAUDL. She continued, “By leveraging student interest in sports, we can capture all of the benefits of the rigorous academic process of debate and inspire new students to participate in a game-changing activity.” Sanchez notes that this series is the first debate format to focus on the issues facing the sports industry, athletes and city leaders. It will serve as a pilot for a national series in the Urban Debate Network, which has 20 member leagues across the country, including the TDL.

High school students representing Will Rogers and Charles Page High School earned the spotlight for next Wednesday’s event at the University of Tulsa at a qualifying tournament in April by besting dozens of teams representing other schools in over 150 rounds on this topic. Ross Faith, Executive Director of the TDL said, “Tulsa Debate League is excited to pilot the first ever sports debate with NAUDL. The new format presents an opportunity for us to reach new students and audiences with compelling topics that show how debate can be relevant to a wide range of civic issues and career paths.