It is the express philosophy of the debate team that academics come first. Indeed, debate is itself an academic pursuit. We look toward a minimum GPA requirement for our debaters of 2.5, but most of the debaters exceed that by a significant margin. We find that debaters who do the most debate work usually are the same people who get the best grades and do the most schoolwork. Just as high school debate teaches skills that translate into better academic achievement, college debate teaches the kind of independent thinking and research that is necessary for the more advanced college work. Many of our debaters have academic scholarships. Overall, college debate and academics are complementary activities. Students with the desire to do both well can succeed. In the rare instance of an academic problem, the coaches and the director will help the student improve, but may require the student to discontinue debating until the problems are resolved. Ultimately, it is the student's self discipline that is essential for success in any facet of college or adult life. Debate provides incentives and opportunities to learn self-discipline, but we do not allow debate to be an excuse for doing poorly in school.