History> Prehistory

Like many campus programs, the University of Iowa was rooted in its single-format CBI traditions, buying packets of CBI questions, holding campus tournaments and then sending the top campus teams to CBI Regionals. Iowa squads had some success at the CBI Region 10 championships in the very distant past: in 1981, a team from the University of Iowa won the R10 and attended the CBI U.S. Nationals. It would be Iowa's only recorded victory in Quiz Bowl competition for the next 16 years.

Very little is known about what the Iowa teams accomplished or even who was on those teams for the rest of the 1980's and the early 1990's. As the circuit continued to expand with the advent of email in 1993 and 1994, Iowa continued to compete in the CBI Regionals, most often dominated by Minnesota and, to a lesser extent, Iowa State. The road to regionals for interested Hawkeyes was a much different story in these days as the College bowl campus tournament was run in conjunction with a Greek system trivia tournament. And from these tournaments, James Erwin, Pete Lawrence and Andrew Cameron emerged from the masses to dominate the 1994 and 1995 tournaments, earning trips to regionals, only to be bested by the emerging power that was Iowa State led by J.L. Nelson and R. Hentzel, a Minnesota team that had captured every CBI R10 from 1986 to 1993, and a Carleton team led by the high-scoring Mary Ann Toner. A highlight included a 6th place finish for James in individual scoring at the 1995 CBI Regionals. And apart from the CBI R10, an Erwin-led squad made it out onto the circuit and competed at a Drake invitational, logging a 5-5 record and missing a chance to defeat Iowa State by five points. However, at the end of the 1995 season, this era would end as Andrew moved and James graduated.

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