The David Riley Coaches Conference is an annual quizbowl conference primarily held to support the efforts of coaches nationwide in developing and promoting high quality high school quizbowl. The conference consists of panel discussions on topics of interest to quizbowl players and coaches. It is traditionally held the Friday or Saturday evening of the National Scholastic Tournament in the tournament hotel.
About the David Riley Conference
The conference began in 2015 as the PACE Coaches Conference, and has since expanded to become a panel discussion on all facets of the quizbowl community. Topics discussed at past conferences include team and circuit development, conduct and interactions between community members of different ages, scaling up from high school to college quizbowl, and “Making Your Home in Quizbowl.”
The conference is named in honor of David Riley, the former quizbowl coach at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois. He was a tournament host, chair of the Illinois High School Scholastic Bowl Coaches Association, question writer, and PACE member. He passed away in 2015 at the age of 59, but his enthusiasm for quizbowl has had a deep and lasting impact on our activity in Illinois and across the country.
2024 Conference
The 2024 David Riley Conference will take place on Saturday, June 8 from 7-9 PM in the Lake Audubon Room at the Hyatt Regency Reston. This year’s moderator will be PACE member Benjamin Kirk. This year’s panelists are:
- Benny Feldman — player for Hastings High School (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY)
- Abigail Lee — player for Thomas Jefferson School of Science & Technology (Alexandria, VA)
- Tracey Hickman — 2024 Benjamin Cooper Award winner, coach at Murray State College (Tishomingo, OK), and director of Oklahoma Quiz Bowl Camp
- Chloe Levine — former player for Hunter College High School (New York City, NY), PACE member, and quizbowl community activist
- Jeff Price — coach at Barrington High School (Barrington, IL)
- Sandy Olive — coach at Lindbergh High School (St. Louis, MO)
- Ashish Kumbardare — PACE officer, former player for Penn State (State College, PA) and founder of the quizbowl team at Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ)
- Eva Wang — PACE member, former player for University of Missouri (Columbia, MO)