Trivia is not trivial for one club at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Similar to the television game show “Jeopardy!,” Quiz Bowl is a game about knowing facts. But, it’s much more serious and academic. Maybe that’s why the club’s official title under Penn’s Student Activities Council is the “Academic Demolition Team.” 

Quiz Bowl is an academic team-based competition in which players answer collegiate-level questions. Players use a buzzer that allows them to interrupt the person reading the question if they already know the answer, and contestants are rewarded extra points for deeper knowledge of a given subject. 

The game’s main categories are literature, science, history, fine arts, current events, geography, popular culture, the social sciences and sports. 

Twelve students from the Penn Quiz Bowl club traveled to the Academic Competition Federation national championship, held in Ann Arbor, Mich., April 18 and 19. It was the unmatched brainpower of four students that brought a shiny, new national trophy home to Penn. 

One of the winning team members from Penn was Patrick Liao, a senior history and political science major from Ottawa, Ontario. Liao, who has been playing since high school where his team won a national championship, joined Penn’s team as a freshman. 

“It was very fulfilling to win another national championship in my last year at Penn,” he says. 

Penn’s victory comes off the heels of a near win against the most competitive team in Quiz Bowl, the University of Virginia, at the Intercollegiate Championship Tournament held in Atlanta at the end of March. There, Penn’s Quiz Bowl team took second place, losing by only one question: For 10 points, name the wife of John Testorf, who modeled for hundreds of works by artist Andrew Wyeth. (The answer: Helga.) 

Another team member, Sarita Jamil, is a sophomore from Mount Laurel, N.J., who is majoring in molecular and cell biology. She is minoring in chemistry and East Asian languages and civilizations with a concentration in Chinese. 

Jamil is now serving as the president of Penn’s Quiz Bowl team. She joined as a freshman and says the game is fun and competitive. 

“It’s a great extracurricular outlet that’s engaging and productive. It’s a close-knit support network that helps us all grow as people within the Penn community.” 

Another member of the Quiz Bowl team, Barrett Block, is a sophomore from Lexington, Ky. He’s majoring in economics at the Wharton School with concentrations in finance, real estate, business economics and public policy. Block also joined the club as a freshman but has participated in competitive trivia since he was a fourth-grader. 

“As a senior in high school, I was on the “Jeopardy! Teen Tournament,” so it was only natural that when I got to Penn I joined the team,” Block says. “I am simply addicted to trivia.” 

But, for Block, as much as he values the game, what matters most are his teammates. 

“I love everyone in Penn Quiz Bowl,” Block says. “We are like one big family.” 

The number of club members varies but hovers around between 16-20 undergraduate and graduate students per year. It’s open to all undergraduate and graduate students at Penn.

“Quiz Bowl is great for people who love to learn for learning’s sake, and that’s why I have a great time being so involved in it,” Jamil says. 

Penn’s club has been active since 2008. They practice twice a week in Huntsman Hall and host social events regularly outside of practice. 

Aside from traveling to tournaments, there are a lot of opportunities with the team to play Quiz Bowl at Penn, help host tournaments, attend social events and work with local high schools in the club’s outreach programs. 

The group is always looking for new members and volunteers. Any student interested in joining the team or any employee or alumnus who would like to help the team host its tournaments and engage locally, can get more information at pennquizbowl@gmail.com.