'Is that your final answer?' Academic Bowl gets into gear

It's that time again – that time of the year when undergraduates from all over the university battle it out over trivia questions for a shot at winning the coveted ASU Academic Bowl trophy.

The 2010 ASU Academic Bowl will kick off its fifth consecutive season this week on the Tempe campus. Opening rounds of competition will take place from 4 to 6 p.m., and 7 to 9 p.m., Oct. 4-5, in the Pima Auditorium of the Memorial Union. The semi-final and final rounds will take place Oct. 7.

Players from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will be defending their three-time championship title (no pressure) as the College of Public Programs, School of Sustainability, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, and College of Technology and Innovation, among a host of other colleges, vie for the trophy.

"When we started the competition, we wanted to highlight our outstanding students and draw the same kind of attention we give our sports achievements to intellectual achievements," said Virgil Renzulli, vice president for public affairs at ASU. "Judging from the level of competition and the great crowd support we have had, we have been very successful with both goals."

A sample of questions from past ASU Academic Bowl competitions includes:

• What statue had to be hauled away on the backs of 900 camels to Syria?

• Who painted "Christina's World"?

• What is Kepler’s first law of planetary motion?

• What character did these three actors, Jesse White, Gordon Jump and Hardy Rawls, play? (Hint: kitchen appliances)

Come out and cheer on your classmates and your college for what should be a rousing game of wits. To keep up-to-date on game scores and all the bowl action, follow ASU Academic Bowl on Twitter.

ASU News also will feature daily coverage of the event.