About Us

TCU has a long and proud tradition of public discourse. TCU boasted a successful and active debate team throughout much of its history. The Forensic Frogs joined Pi Kappa Delta, the national forensics honor society, in 1926 as the Texas Zeta Chapter.

During the Great Depression, TCU was the first college in the South to invite Wiley College, the team featured in the 2007 movie “The Great Debaters,” to debate on campus. TCU debaters continued to excel and win national titles until the late 1970s.

After a hiatus of over three decades, the current TCU Forensics team continues the tradition of public address and academic debate. We are active members of Pi Kappa Delta (Texas Zeta Chapter), the National Forensic Association, the National Parliamentary Debate Association, and American Forensic Association. As a comprehensive program, we encourage students to compete in both public speaking and debate. Competitors each compete in multiple formats including:

• Parliamentary Debate
• IPDA Debate
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate
• Extemporaneous Speaking
• Impromptu Speaking
• Persuasive Speaking
• Informative Speaking
• Rhetorical Criticism
• After Dinner Speaking
• Prose Interpretation
• Dramatic Interpretation
• Poetry Interpretation
• Program Oral Interpretation
• Duo Interpretation

TCU Forensics travels to approximately 15 tournaments each academic year, competing in speech and debate events against colleges and universities throughout the U.S. We also work to bring public events to the TCU campus including debates, performances, and dialogues. We invite you to attend any of our public events, or to consider joining the team.