Meet Howard Payne, the Tournament Sponsor Inviting you to Join Their Christian Community


Howard Payne University has generously sponsored our upcoming online national tournaments. Here’s why we’re excited to partner with them.


What They Do

Howard Payne is a Christian university in Brownwood, Texas. 

  • Texan Institution. Howard Payne was founded in the center of Texas by the Pecan Valley Baptist Association in 1889. That means the university has offered rigorous, Christ-focused higher education since before the invention of the volleyball.  

  • Great selection. HPU offers more than a hundred programs in seven schools: Business, Christian Studies, Education, Humanities, Music and Fine Arts, Nursing, and Science and Mathematics. Wherever you want to build a career, HPU can get you there. 

  • Family Feel. HPU has an average class size of 14 and dozens of student organizations. Expect to be constantly engaged on a personal level, to get transformative guidance from faculty, and to forge lifelong connections with classmates. 

Howard Payne Welcomes Stoa and NCFCA Debaters

Howard Payne encourages rational spirituality. It’s the kind that believes that science and faith should never be in conflict, but instead are inextricably connected. From the HPU website:


“Because God is the author of all truth, open inquiry is an act of intellect and of faith and is to be wholly embraced; Because open inquiry is an act of intellect and of faith, such efforts must proceed from rigorous academic standards and genuine commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord;”


Christian debaters know how to actively engage with the world as a way to better understand God. Howard Payne is eager to help you continue your journey of exploration, which is why they’re offering incredible scholarships for people who perform well at the national tournaments.

Howard Payne Scholarships

Howard Payne has generously sponsored the Ace Peak x Ziggy national tournaments with dozens of scholarships, conditional on acceptance. 

To win a scholarship, you must place in the top 4 in either form of debate, in either of our national tournaments. The top 2 winners will receive the Dean’s Scholarship; 3rd and 4th place will receive the Yellow Jacket Scholarship. These incredibly generous scholarships are worth tens of thousands of dollars each. Get all the details here.

Winning one of these prizes at our tournament exempts you from needing to meet each scholarship’s GPA and test score requirements. Just place in the top four, get admitted to HPU, and you get the scholarship.

Quarterfinalists who are accepted and who join the HPU debate team following a successful audition will also receive scholarships awarding $500-1000 per semester.

Learn more

Check out the Howard Payne University website. 


Registration for the Online Championships opens May 17th. Are you ready?