The University of Kentucky Department of Agricultural Economics’ Academic Bowl team recently earned their third national championship in as many years.

The economics team, from the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, won the double elimination tournament of 38 teams at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., after beating Texas A&M in a tie-breaker round during the championship round. UK team members are Erica Rogers, a recent graduate from Murray; Josey Moore, a senior from Fallon, Nevada; and Zoe Gabrielson, a junior from Cary, North Carolina. The team was coached by UK graduate student Will Fox and advised by Leigh Maynard, UK agricultural economics professor. Additional team members include students Abby Clas, Alex Cochran, Paige Mattingly and Beth Osbourne.

The team began practicing in the fall and spent countless hours learning economic and statistical theories and principles, on top of the information they were learning in the classroom.

“Finding time to prepare for an event like this wasn’t easy with everyone’s busy schedules, but our team was really dedicated and wanted to bring the 3-peat home,” said Rogers, who was a member of all three national championship teams. “With the generous help of our coaches, we pulled it off, and I can’t think of a better ending to my time as a UK ag econ student.”

Academic bowl competitions carry many benefits besides the opportunity to take home a trophy. Students learn all aspects of agricultural economics and develop a better understanding of how these areas connect to each other. They also meet and network with peers from across the United States and get to participate in a national conference where they are encouraged to enter graduate programs.

“The quiz bowl helps all of our students in many ways,” Maynard said. “The competition builds up team members’ professional confidence and provides them with great networking opportunities. It also shows our students back home that we can compete with anyone in the nation.”