x
Breaking News
More () »

Smart students compete in the East Tennessee PBS Scholars' Bowl

The first round of the East Tennessee PBS Scholars' Bowl airs June 1, with the series playing out over the summer.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — This is the 36th season for the East Tennessee PBS Scholars' Bowl.

They taped the rounds back in the fall before the coronavirus brought us social distancing. 

Scholars' Bowl is a game-show style academic competition for smart, talented, well-rounded high school students.

Each round follows a certain pattern: Question. Buzzer. Answer. Score. 

The series airing on East Tennessee PBS is structured like basketball's March Madness with brackets and single elimination. 

"Finally we get down to what I call the smart sixteen, the educated eight, the phenomenal four, and finally our champion," Frank Murphy said. 

Credit: East Tennessee PBS
Frank Murphy hosts Scholars' Bowl

Frank Murphy has hosted the East Tennessee PBS Scholars' Bowl for four years. It's a  role you could say he's been preparing for since childhood.

"I liked to torture my sisters back in those days. I would set up snack tables in my bedroom and little bells I found around the house.  And then I would stand there. Ring in when you know the question from this trivia book I got from the scholastic book at school," he said. "I wanted to be the quiz master and I would watch all of those shows. And in fact, I grew up in the New York area, and I even made my parents take me to a couple of game show tapings."

The episodes are taped in the fall. They air in the winter, re-run in the summer, then post online. 

"When we meet the kids again back in October that they've just come off of a binge watch of the previous season to see how the other teams did and they want to size up the competition. They are very competitive," he said. 

Credit: East Tennessee PBS
Teams from schools across the region compete in Scholars' Bowl

He enjoys his role but says Scholars' Bowl is not about the host. 

"Imagine like in basketball. Literally my job is to throw the ball in the air and let them score. It's about the kids. The camera most of the time is focused on the kids and my job is to get the questions out there as fast and clearly as possible so they can rack up the points," he said.

This season the points scored were astronomical. One team was hitting the high 900s with time ticking down.

"I'm just going charge, charge, charge and I look up and I think oh my gosh. Does the scoreboard go to 1000? I don't know. We've never gotten that high before," he said. 

Credit: East Tennessee PBS
The students who compete in Scholars' Bowl are not only smart but also well-rounded

Not to give away anything about the 2020 results but... 

"Our final four we had a public school, a religious school, a private school non-religious, and a home school."

Watch smart students weeknights at 5:30 on East Tennessee PBS. 

RELATED: PBS Scholars Bowl

RELATED: Top students match wits in Scholars' Bowl competition

Before You Leave, Check This Out