College Bowl Marks 40 Years of Challenging and Connecting Students

When food science students take the stage in Chicago’s McCormick Place for the final round of the IFT Student Association’s (IFTSA) College Bowl Competition at IFT FIRST this summer, it will be an important moment for the participants—one that’s typically the culmination of months of intense preparation. It will also mark a major milestone in IFTSA history—the 40th anniversary of the College Bowl.

As it has since its inception in 1985, the College Bowl will quiz members of eight regional teams on food science and technology, the history of foods and food processing, food law, and IFT and food-related trivia. The competition is much more than a test of knowledge, however.

It’s about camaraderie, networking, and relationship building. “The College Bowl has stayed relevant all these years because it’s more than just a competition,” says Rañia Buenavista, chair of this year’s College Bowl and a PhD student at Kansas State University.“It’s a great avenue for students to showcase their knowledge, support one another, and feel a real sense of community within food science.”

Jenna Fryer, who will graduate this spring with a PhD from Oregon State University and has competed in the College Bowl and also helped organize it, appreciates the way that it “fosters connections between students and professionals.”

IFT member Bruce Ferree, a retired food scientist who served as a College Bowl judge and/or moderator for 11 years, was motivated to continue volunteering by the energy and enthusiasm of the student participants.

“This is a bit of a trivia competition, and that’s a great way to get students thinking about all the little things that go into food science,” Ferree observes. “But I think the benefit for students is creating connections at universities different than the one they attend. Getting together at another school. Planning the event at your school. Meeting professors from other schools to help decide if you want to be their grad student. And simply meeting other students and opening up dialogue about what other schools are good at is what benefits students the most.”

IFT member Ellen Bradley, founder and principal food scientist with River City Food Group, has fond memories of competing on the Oregon State University team in 1987. She remembers the competition coming down to a final question on a topic that one of her teammates, a graduate student, knew a lot about.

“He hesitated for a nanosecond, and the other team, Purdue, answered the question correctly and won the competition,” Bradley recalls. The team’s second-place finish didn’t dampen her enthusiasm for the College Bowl, however. In the years since then, she has served as a moderator and a judge. “I am always in awe about how much the students know about the science of food,” she says.

The eight regional finalist teams this year include the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Midwest), California Polytechnic State University Pomona (Pacific Southwest), Brigham Young University (Pacific Northwest), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Central Atlantic), Cornell University (North Atlantic), University of Georgia (Southeast), University of Nebraska–Lincoln (North Central), and University of Arkansas (South Central).

And while only one team will clinch the title of 2025 College Bowl champion this summer, it’s likely that all participants will share the perspective of many past competitors. As Fryer reflects: “Being a part of College Bowl has been such an integral part of my academic journey, which I know has been the same for many others. In continuing this tradition, we are able to ensure that future students in the science of food can continue to be a part of this challenging but fun competition and join the ever-growing College Bowl network.”ft