About · Est. fall 2017

It started at a cafeteria table.

In fall 2017, a few MSU students who had spent high school in MIFA rounds were sitting over dining hall trays, missing it. Somebody said MSU should have a speech club. Somebody else said it should host a tournament. Sam Bloch took both ideas seriously, filed the paperwork, and became the club’s founder and first president.

Six months later, about 250 high schoolers walked into the first Spartanvitational. Ten years later, the club is still run by students who remember what it felt like to wait for the break to post.

2017 to 2027

2017
The idea
Founded at MSU in the fall by former MIFA competitors. Sam Bloch (’20) serves as founder and first president. Faculty home in WRAC, Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures.
2018
The first Spartanvitational
March 23. About 250 students from 20+ schools.
2019
Biggest in the state
February 23. 500+ students, 25+ schools, roughly 800 people on campus. The largest tournament in Michigan.
2020
600 and counting
February 22. 600+ students from 35+ schools. Weeks later, campus closed.
2021
Going national, online
With no rooms to fill, the club ran a national online tournament instead.
2027
The SparTENvitational
February 20. The tenth tournament, awards in Wells Hall, and an alumni gala at the MSUFCU club space on Abbott Road.