The strength of Davidson's debate teams had been a source of great pride on campus from the 1890s when intercollegiate competition began for the college. Debating was not uncommon as most debates occurred between the two literary socieites, Philanthropic and Eumenean Society. The actual formation of a formal Debate Club" is unknown, although we can assume that it was early in the history of the college. Davidson students were behind the organization of the Intercollegiate State Oratorical Association in 1890. They were equally active in the Southern Intercollegiate Oratorical Association in 1890. After a slack period, interest revived in 1909 with a debate against Wake Forest following a baseball game; by 1914 the fortunes of the debating team were regularly front page news in the Davidsonian. Between 1909 and 1924, the college had entered thirty matches and won twenty of them, as the newspaper noted in an article on April 15, 1924."