Minnesota State Knowledge Bowl Meet


The Minnesota State Knowledge Bowl Meet is an annual, two-day academic quiz competition sponsored by the Minnesota Service Cooperatives, which is Minnesota's governing body of Knowledge Bowl. The State Meet is held in April at Cragun's Resort in Brainerd.

Format

The 48 teams that qualify for the Minnesota State Knowledge Bowl Meet are ordered by enrollment size and then are evenly divided, with the larger 24 schools in Class AA, and the smaller 24 schools in Class A. All schools from the Metro Region are automatically placed in Class AA. If one private school qualifies, it is automatically placed in Class AA, regardless of size. If two private schools qualify, the larger is placed in Class AA, and the smaller in Class A. If three private schools qualify, the larger two are placed in Class AA, and the smallest is placed in Class A, and so on.
The first day of the State Knowledge Bowl Meet begins in the evening with a banquet, at which all the teams are introduced. Following the banquet is the written round which consists of 60 questions. Once the written rounds are scored, the teams are ranked. In the event of a tie after the written round, certain questions will be used to break the tie. The state meet is "power-ranked," that is, teams are grouped together by their current standing as follows:
Teams are power ranked for five, 45-question oral rounds. At the end, the team with the highest total score is the State Champion. The top 3 teams receive trophies, and the top 6 teams receive medals. If there is a tie among the top 6 following the fifth and final oral round, it is broken by a 15-question "overtime." The Heritage Spirit Award is given to one team from each class that demonstrates a positive attitude and sportsmanship as voted on by the readers, computer operators, coaches, and other teams.

Historical format

In 2007, the State Tournament began using strength-of-scoring, or "SOS". After the last oral rounds, teams receive 1.5 extra points for each round they have competed in the top room, 1 extra point for each round in the second room, and 0.5 extra points for each round in the third room. This was done both to help break ties and to recognize that scoring points is harder in top rooms.
Prior to 2000, there was a "championship round," in which the top three teams competed head-to-head to determine who would be champion.
Furthermore, the state meet was not split into two classes until 1996.
Regarding how the State Tournament ended up in the Brainerd resort area, former Metro ECSU Knowledge Bowl coordinator Marilyn McGowan says "It all hinges on a measles outbreak in Thief River Falls the year the tournament was to be held there and the state health department said we would have to cancel our plans to have it there. Thus, at the last minute, it was moved to Cragun's. The original plan was to have each ECSU region host it with it being held throughout the state. However, it worked so well holding it in a resort without the temptations of a city, that it has been held at a Brainerd lakes resort ever since the episode with the measles outbreak. We have also been at Madden's and Breezy Point."
The 1984 tournament had five oral rounds like today's, but in 1986 and 1987 only four oral rounds were played. In 1991 and before, oral rounds consisted of 60 questions. In 1992 the change was made to 45 questions per round.
In 2013, only four oral rounds were used. Due to inclement weather across the state, the Friday schedule was moved back by a couple of hours to allow for late arrivals; the fifth oral round was eliminated to keep the meet more on schedule. This weather caused some schools to not be able to attend at all. Only 21 AA teams attended, instead of the usual 24.

State champions and runners-up

Blanks indicate incomplete records. A second score by a team name indicates score in championship round or score in tiebreaker round. Asterisks above denotes meet was 4 oral rounds instead of 5 due to weather.
Year/TierFirst PlaceSecond PlaceThird PlaceFourth PlaceFifth PlaceSixth Place
1982Fergus FallsDuluth Cathedral
1983Fergus FallsDuluth Cathedral
1984Fergus Falls Hibbing II Brainerd Moorhead Maynard Princeton
1985Fergus Falls Hibbing
1986Little Falls Moorhead 1 Apple Valley Melrose Chaska Cambridge
1987Duluth Cathedral Perham Rosemount/Apple Valley Atwater/Grove City International Falls Duluth East
1988Moorhead Elk River Motley
1989Northfield Moorhead Sebeka
1990Greenbush Moorhead Northfield
1991Bemidji Moorhead St. Cloud Apollo Staples/Motley Fergus Falls New London/Spicer
1992Chaska 1 Duluth East Centennial Chaska 2 MACCRAY Jefferson
1993Chaska Purple Chaska Gold Moorhead Orange Moorhead Black Jefferson St. John's Prep
1994Moorhead Black Chaska MACCRAY Fairmont Perham St. Thomas Academy
1995Chaska Hibbing Cannon Falls Blake Fairmont St. Thomas Academy
1996 AGrygla Sartell Fisher Litchfield Murray County Central Cannon Falls
1996 AAHibbing Chaska Gold St. Cloud Tech Blake Northfield Cretin-Derham Hall
1997 AMorris Murray County Central St. Cloud Cathedral Win-E-Mac Duluth Marshall Albany
1997 AAChaska Centennial Willmar Moorhead Hibbing St. Cloud Tech 1
1998 AMurray County Central Becker Fosston Cannon Falls Montevideo Grygla
1998 AACretin-Derham Hall Hibbing Chaska Centennial Little Falls Brainerd
1999 AMoose Lake Grygla Redwood Valley Ortonville Loyola Duluth Marshall
1999 AACretin-Derham Hall White Chaska St. Cloud Tech Hibbing Green Eagan Cretin-Derham Hall Blue
2000 AMoose Lake Redwood Valley St. John's Prep Minnesota Valley Lutheran NRHEG Chisholm
2000 AASt. Cloud Tech Blake Chaska Hibbing Cretin-Derham Hall Hastings
2001 ANRHEG Redwood Area St. John's Prep Cook Moose Lake Minnesota Valley Lutheran
2001 AAHibbing Tan St. Thomas Academy Chaska Purple Moorhead Red Bemidji Buffalo
2002 ACook Springfield Osakis Pelican Rapids Becker Moose Lake
2002 AASt. Thomas Academy Moorhead Chaska Hibbing Blue Rocori Area Apple Valley
2003 ASpringfield Blackduck Park Christian Moose Lake Cook Lake Park Audubon
2003 AAChaska Moorhead Rochester Mayo Bemidji St. Thomas Academy Northfield
2004 APark Christian East Grand Forks Windom Lac qui Parle Valley Pequot Lakes Blackduck
2004 AASt. Anthony Village Mahtomedi St. Thomas Academy Chaska Moorhead White Hibbing
2005 AEast Grand Forks Win-E-Mac Montevideo Lac qui Parle Valley Blue Earth Fairmont
2005 AASt. Thomas Academy Chaska Purple St. Anthony Village Moorhead Orange Buffalo Hermantown
2006 ASt. John's Prep Redwood Area Black Lake Park-Audubon Staples-Motley Dover-Eyota Roseau
2006 AASt. Anthony Village Chaska Buffalo St. Thomas Academy Eden Prairie Moorhead Gold
2007 AGlencoe-Silver Lake Morris Minnesota Valley Lutheran Lake Park Audubon St. John's Prep Lac qui Parle Valley
2007 AASt. Anthony Village Eden Prairie Moorhead St. Thomas Academy/Visitation Chaska Prior Lake
2008 ASt. John's Prep Lac qui Parle Valley Sebeka Houston Redwood Area Dover-Eyota
2008 AAEden Prairie Prior Lake-Savage Simley St. Anthony Village Minnesota Valley Lutheran Chaska
2009 ALoyola Catholic Redwood Area St. John's Prep Montevideo Sebeka Rushford-Peterson
2009 AAChaska Rochester Mayo Prior Lake-Savage St. Anthony Village-Helen Glencoe-Silver Lake Simley
2010 ASebeka Crookston Sibley East New London-Spicer Duluth Marshall Albany
2010 AASt. Anthony Little Falls St. Thomas Academy Holy Family Catholic Chaska Prior Lake
2011 ASebeka International Falls Purple Crookston St. John's Prep Zimmerman Minnesota Valley Lutheran
2011 AASt. Anthony Chaska Fergus Falls Moorhead Rochester Mayo Bemidji
2012 ASt. John's Prep Minnesota Valley Lutheran Pelican Rapids Windom Cloquet Breckenridge
2012 AAChaska Red Academy of Holy Angels Rochester Mayo Spring Lake Park Chaska White Moorhead Orange
2013 A*Glencoe-Silver Lake St. John's Prep Bagley Crookston Albany Pelican Rapids
2013 AA*Spring Lake Park Chaska Buffalo Chanhassen Sartell St. Cloud Tech
2014 ASt. John's Prep Glencoe-Silver Lake Black Plainview-Elgin-Millville Tri-City United Albany Mountain Lake
2014 AABuffalo Purple St. Thomas Chanhassen Hutchinson Eastview Prior Lake
2015 AGlencoe-Silver Lake Black St. John's Prep Red Tri-City United Plainview-Elgin-Millville Mountain Lake St. John's Prep Blue
2015 AAAlexandria Chaska Buffalo Sartell Bemidji Big Lake
2016 ASt. John's Prep Red Glencoe-Silver Lake Black Morris St. John's Prep Blue Tri-City United Glencoe-Silver Lake Purple
2016 AAAcademy of Holy Angels St. Thomas Academy Chaska Buffalo Prior Lake Moorhead
2017 AGlencoe Silver Lake St. John's Prep Melrose Gold Hillcrest MN Valley Lutheran International Falls
2017 AASt. Thomas Academy Big Lake Chaska Sauk Rapids Rice Edina Anoka
2018 A*Glencoe-Silver Lake MN Valley Lutheran International Falls Cook County Hawley Park Christian
2018 AA*Sartell-St. Stephen Edina Rochester Mayo Mankato West Holy Family Catholic Saint Thomas Academy
2019 AMN Valley Lutheran Black Hawley Saint John's Prep Glencoe Silver Lake Black St Cloud Cathedral East Central
2019 AAPrior Lake Sartell-St. Stephen Mankato West Moorhead Orange Chanhassen Tartan