The Benjamin Cooper Awards are given each year to recognize individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the quizbowl community. Nominations for the Cooper are solicited from the general quizbowl community and voted on by the members of PACE. We present two editions of the Cooper Award every year: the Academic Ambassador Award and the Young Ambassador Award.
The Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award, first presented in 1998, recognizes a community member who has gone above and beyond to promote and facilitate high-quality high school quizbowl and embody by example the ideals of academic competition.
The Benjamin Cooper Young Ambassador Award, first presented in 2004, recognizes deserving community members under the age of 25. “Young Cooper” winners are often high school or college students at the time they receive the award.
The award is named in honor of Benjamin Cooper. Ben was a student at Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC and an engaged member of the campus community, participating in many student activities and community service projects. Owing to his enthusiasm for promoting quizbowl, Ben’s teammates elected him captain of the GDS academic team for the 1997-98 school year, but he was tragically killed by an automobile accident on August 12, 1997. Members of PACE, impressed with his enthusiasm for the game and the inaugural National Scholastic Competition, established the awards in his memory.
| Year | Academic Ambassador | Young Ambassador |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Tracey Hickman Murray State College and Oklahoma Quizbowl Camp Tishomingo, OK | Ben Weiner University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN |
| 2023 | Jay Winter Iowa Quiz Bowl League and Waukee Northwest High School Waukee, IA | Joy An Choate Rosemary Hall Wallingford, CT |
| 2022 | Kristin Strey Scholastic Community Outreach Program Winnebago, IL | Kevin Kodama University of Washington Seattle, WA |
| 2021 | Ben Herman Greater Pennsylvania Quiz Bowl West Chester, PA | Em Gunter University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA |
| 2020 | Chris Johnson Itawamba High School Fulton, MS | Ashish Kumbhardare Penn State University State College, PA |
| 2019 | Las Vegas Quiz Bowl Alliance Las Vegas, NV | Connor Mayers Penn Manor High School Millersville, PA |
| 2018 | Chad Kubicek NAQT Kansas City, MO | Kady Hsu Rancho Bernardo High School San Diego, CA |
| 2017 | Fred Morlan HSQB Rank | Jackie Wu Downington East High School Exton, PA |
| 2016 | Sheryl and Michael Cvijanovich Matt’s Buzzers | Ankit Aggarwal University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA |
| 2015 | Joshua Rutsky Hoover High School Hoover, AL | Nicholas Karas University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA |
| 2014 | Jeff Hoppes National Academic Quiz Tournaments Quizbowl Resource Center Berkeley, CA | Matthew Bollinger High School Academic Pyramid Questions University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA |
| 2013 | Chris Chiego University of California, San Diego San Diego, CA and Dwight Wynne University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA | Max Schindler Ladue Horton Watkins High School Ladue, MO |
| 2012 | David Riley Loyola Academy Wilmette, IL and Linda Greene Auburn High School Rockford, IL | Lily Chen Hunter College High School New York, NY |
| 2011 | Matt Weiner Virginia Commonwealth University and HSAPQ Richmond, VA | Missouri Quizbowl Alliance |
| 2010 | R. Robert Hentzel National Academic Quiz Tournaments Bloomington, MN | Sarah Angelo Maggie Walker Governor’s School Richmond, VA |
| 2009 | Eric Huff Paul M. Dorman High School Roebuck, SC | Christian Carter Minneapolis South High School Minneapolis, MN |
| 2008 | Award revoked | Chris Sewell Mountain View, CA and Lee Henry Brindlee Mountain High School Guntersville, AL |
| 2007 | Julie Gittings State College Area High School State College, PA | Evan Silberman Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Alexandria, VA |
| 2006 | Bob Weiser Solon High School Solon, OH and Dr. John Barnes Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies Richmond, VA | Eric Grunden Raleigh Charter High School Raleigh, NC |
| 2005 | Sue Korosa Copley High School Copley, OH | Tom Egan Maine South High School Park Ridge, IL |
| 2004 | Paul Cain Ysleta High School El Paso, TX | Matt Weiner Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA and David Bykowski Columbia, SC |
| 2003 | Carolyn Hawkins Cookeville High School Cookeville, TN | Award was created in 2004 |
| 2002 | Douglas A. Tyson Benjamin Banneker High School Washington, DC and It’s Academic television program |
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| 2001 | Robert C. Grierson Editor Scholastic Visions newsletter |
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| 2000 | Academic Competition Enterprises (now ACE Quizbowl Camps) Rick Barry Brookwood High School Snellville, GA James Garrick Paul Dorman High School Roebuck, SC Hodges Lewis Irmo High School Irmo, SC |
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| 1999 | Joe Hermiller E. L. Bowsher High School Toledo, OH |
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| 1998 | Sue Ikenberry on behalf of Benjamin Cooper Georgetown Day School Washington, DC |