Unlicensed students Daniel (left) and Jonathan (right) listening during the 2006 Collegiate Championship at Hesston College K0HC. Congratulations to Hesston College K0HC for its repeat victory in the Collegiate Championship. This is Hesston College's second overall victory in just three years of participation. The battle for second place was much closer than the battle for first. The team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology W1MX took second place overall, with second place CW and third place phone finishes. The margin of victory was very close, however, as the third place CW and second place phone finisher, Stanford University W6YX came in with a combined points total just 3.7% behind the team at MIT. Stanford can take soma solace however, in winning their ARRL section in both Sweepstakes competitions, and winning their Division in the phone contest. 2006 was the second year in a row with increasing levels of college and university participation. Particiption in the CW contest grew from 9 entrants to 13, and participation in the phone contest grew from 18 in 2005 to 21 in 2006. The growth in participation is largely the result of new colleges and universities entering the competition; only four schools that entered in 2006 also had entries in both 2005 and 2004. This year, the two leading conferences were the Ivy League and the Big 12, with four entries each. No conference had more than two entries on the same mode, however. Six college and universities entered the Collegiate Championship for the first time in 2006. Three of them entered in both CW and phone: the University of Pennsylvania W3ABT, Birmingham-Southern College KU5B, and Principia College N9YN. New York University W2DSC entered for the first time ever in CW only. On phone only, the University of California at Santa Barbara W6RFU and Florida Atlantic University K4FAU all made their Collegiate Championship debut in 2006.

Operators

K0HC:   W0BH
W1MX:   K2TJ, KB0VVT
W6YX:   K6OWL, W6KNS, W6RK
W3ABT:  K5MA
WA5BU:  K5LH
W5YM:   K5NER
KU5B:   KU5B
W9YV:   K9RZZ
W8SH:   WB8LZG
W1AF:   NF1R
N9YN:   W9LD
W2DSC:  WB2NVR
N0UNL:  WD0BGZ, N0KIS

"I mostly got on during a study break Sunday afternoon. I had trouble getting much going on 15 meters, so I moved to 20 meters and had a nice 'fresh meat' run for an hour or so." - NF1R (@ Harvard Univ. W1AF)

"I missed WTX." - K5LH (@ Baylor Univ. WA5BU)

"My first sweep!! There were great operators in this contest - it was very enjoyable to work y'all. I couldn't get the CW interface to work, so I hand keyed this contest, sorry to y'all that had no clue what I was sending. On behalf of Birmingham-Southern College, thanks for the QSOs! I'll be back next year!" - KU5B (@ Birmingham-Southern College)

"An alumni group has re-activated the old University of Pennsylvania Amateur Radio club callsigns, W3ABT and N3KZ, which had expired several years ago. Our goal is to establish an active on-campus, student-run radio club backed and mentored by our alumni group. Until the on-campus club is re-established, our alumni group will continue to activate the club callsigns and make our presence known in major contesting activities." - K5MA (@ Univ. of Pennsylvania W3ABT)

"I operated only 18 hours in my first November Sweepstakes. I loved it! Perhaps I'll do it again sometime, maybe if I can convince others to operate CW. It's really not that hard to operate CW, or is it?" - K5NER (@ Univ. of Arkansas W5YM)

"It's always fun to put K0HC on the air representing the Hesston College Amateur Radio Club. A number of new students are interested in helping with the phone Sweepstakes team effort this year, so I'm now busy 'recruiting'. Hope to work you all again in two weeks!" - W0BH (@ Hesston College K0HC)

Operators

K0HC:   W0BH, N0LQU, N0LRA, K0WHY
W6YX:   K6OWL, W6LD, W6RK, W6RQ
W1MX:   KT1D, WG1Z, AG4ZP, KF4KJQ
N9UC:   WO9S
W5YM:   K5FXB, K5KGF, K5NER, KC5EQJ, KE5HDA, W5VO
N1JJ:   W0GJ, N0CMJ
W8SH:   K8MAS, WB8ZQZ, KD8BXT, WB8LZG
N0UNL:  WD0BGZ, N0KIS
W6RFU:  AC6T, KG6K, KG6PPK
K4KDJ:  N4CV, KF4YLM, KI4NYS, K4NNW, KI4OSL, KI4RTD
W8EDU:  AF8A, KB3HTS, KF3DR, W8RZ
W3ABT:  K3BHX
K4FAU:  AJ2U, W4ANA, W4RIS
WA5BU:  KC5CGH, KD5BKL, KD5KQX, KD5OXK, KE5ERW, KE5ISO, K5LH
KU5B:   KU5B
W9YT:   K9ITW, KC9CJW, WO9U, WA9SE
W6YV:   NO6LE, KG6CUK
N9YN:   WB1D, N9IH, WB1BUO
W1YK:   KB1LUJ, N2YHK
W3EAX:  N3CA
W1AF:   NF1R, KD5OVV

Other colleges and universities heard: WA1ABC, K5LSU, K9IU

"What a wonderful opportunity to introduce new operators to the fascinating world of HF! Thanks for all your points, patience and encouragement. See you next year." - K5LH (@ Baylor Univ. WA5BU)

"Who would have thought that NNY and SC would have been so hard to find? It was great to talk to so many other school stations. It would be nice to start a net." - K3BHX (@ Univ. of Pennsylvania W3ABT)

"It was great to see the participation of some 'new faces' among the collegiates." - K6OWL (@ Stanford Univ. W6YX)

"A very enjoyable 2006 Phone Sweepstakes this year with six students and four faculty from Hesston College participating. The students were all non-hams, so they spent Saturday listening, logging, searching and pouncing. On Sunday, two felt confident enough to run (and my sincere thanks to those of you who patiently helped them start to learn that fine art!)" - W0BH (@ Hesston College K0HC)

"This was our first Sweepstakes participation in a few years as a club. Several newly licensed members enjoyed their first time operating in a contest. I'm sure a few are hooked." - N4CV (@ Virginia Tech K4KDJ)

"AK, SB, and NT were a bit of a challenge for us, but I finally snagged them as 20 meters was closing on Sunday. We ended up with 337 contacts and 79 sections, missing only BC - I just could not get through. Every time we operate from K4FAU we find things we can improve and the station is getting better and better. Things to improve include installing the 40 meter expansion kit (donated by AJ2U) for the Moseley Pro 57-B-3, installing 80 meter and 160 meter antennas, and getting the voice keyer to work (hopefully before the ARRL 10 Meter Contest!)" - W4RIS (@ Florida Atlantic Univ. K4FAU)

"A fun contest. The Alabama vs. Auburn game was on Saturday, so I could only operate on Sunday! I'll be back next year to try and beat this!" - KU5B (@ Birmingham-Southern College)

Participation by Conference

Conference          CW    SSB    Total
----------          --    ---    -----
Ivy                  2     2       4
Big 12               2     2       4
Pac 10               1     2       3
Big 10               1     2       3
NJCAA                1     1       2   
NEFC                 1     1       2
SEC                  1     1       2
Big South            1     1       2
SLIAC                1     1       2
UAA                  1     1       2
ACC                  0     2       2
Midwestern           1     0       1
NSIC                 0     1       1
Big West             0     1       1
Sun Belt             0     1       1
NEWMAC               0     1       1

N/A                  0     1       1
                    ---   ---     ---
                    13    21      34

The Won column lists the ARRL award the station won. (S=Section, D=Division, T=Top Ten)