Dave KB8BXT and Phil W8EKR making QSOs in the 2007 CW Collegiate Championship from Michigan State Univ. W8SH. In 2007, Hesston College K0HC pulled off the "three-peat" in impressive style, earning the highest score in both the CW and phone categories of the Collegiate Championship. This is Heston College's third victory in a row in just four years of participation. Improving one position in the rankings from 2006, the team at Stanford University W6YX took second place, with the second-best scores in both the CW and phone competition. Stanford was closest to Heston College in the CW contest, just 48 QSOs behind K0HC. The battle for third place combined was the closest ever in the history of the Collegiate Championship. Last year's second place team, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology W1MX edged out the University of Chicago N9UC by a single point! W1MX had a slight edge over N9UC in the CW competition, and N9UC had a slight edge over W1MX in the phone competition. The resulting combined points of 1149 for W1MX and 1148 for N9UC represent a difference of just 0.087%. Both Hesston College K0HC and Stanford University W6YX set the 7th and 8th all-time high CW scores for the Collegiate Championship this year. Stanford University W6YX took home Section victories in both the CW and phone contests, and won the Pacific Division Multi-operator category in the phone contest. Case Western Reserve University W8EDU took home a victory in the Great Lakes Division Multi-operator category this year as well. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology W1MX and the University of Wisconsin-Madison W9YV also won their respective sections in the phone competition. After moderate increases in activity in 2005 and 2006, the 2007 Collegiate Championship had the second-fewest entries from college and university club stations ever. 27 entries in the competition was just three higher than 2004. 17 entries in the phone competition was just one better than a record low set back in 1995, just the second year that the Collegiate Championship was held. Only two new universities entered the Collegiate Championship for the first time in 2007. The University of Mississippi W5UMS entered in the phone competition and made 527 QSOs to 79 sections. The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology K0VVY entered phone only, making 163 QSOs to 58 sections, with five operators.

Operators

K0HC:   W0BH
W6YX:   N7MH
W8EDU:  AF8A, W8RZ, W8WTS
W1MX:   K2TJ, AG4ZP
N9UC:   WO9S
W3ABT:  K5MA
N9YN:   W9LD, N9IH
K5LSU:  AD5VC, N5IB
N5XU:   AA5BT
W8SH:   KD8DAO, KD8BXT, WB8LZG, W8EKR

Other colleges and universities heard: W1AF

"We had a lot of fun this year, our second time in the Collegiate Championship. We added a Kenwood linear since last year, which really helped in breaking through the pile ups on the rare multipliers. With better planning and more operating hours we were able to increase our 2006 score by over 6 times." - N9IH (@ Principia College N9YN)

"I enjoyed the weekend fun, especially the contacts with other schools. I wish we had a catalog listing for COMM --... ...--, Intro to CW, as a course here at Hesston College!" - W0BH (@ Hesston College K0HC)

"Thanks to everyone for all the QSOs. This was my first 24-hour single-op effort ever in SS CW. I've always either been part of a multi-op, done a split effort at two stations, or operated just a few hours single-op." - N7MH (@ Stanford Univ. W6YX)

"No full time effort this year, maybe next year. The bands sounded pretty good from here in the noise hole." - K2TJ (@ MIT W1MX)

Operators

K0HC:   W0BH, N0LQU, N0LRA
W6YX:   K6IF, N6CCH, K6OWL, W6RQ
N9UC:   WO9S
W1MX:   ?
W9YV:   K9RZZ, N9FH
W8UM:   K8QKY, K8KS, KB5AW, KA8WFC
W5UMS:  W5MPC
W8SH:   K8MAS, W2NRL, KD8BXT, WB8LZG
K4KDJ:  N4CV, KI4OSL, KF4YLM
N0UNL:  WD0BGZ, N0KIS
K4FAU:  KI4WFJ, W4RIS
W3ABT:  K3BHX
W8EDU:  KB0USR, KB3HTS, W8WTS
N9YN:   W9LD, N9IH, N9UF, WB1BUO, KC0VNX
K0VVY:  KC0YLD, KC0VZO, KC0VZP, KC0NVQ, KE7NBF
WA5BU:  KE5ISO
W9YT:   KC0VDN, N9DRB

Other colleges and universities heard: W1AF, W1YK, K2CC, K9IU

"This was the first time for Ole Miss W5UMS to enter Phone Sweepstakes. 80 meters sure was jumpin'! It was lots of fun, and I'm looking forward to next year." - W5MPC (@ Univ. of Mississippi W5UMS)

"This was the best Sweepstakes in recent years at W8UM. 40 meters and 80 meters went long early. We had fun cheering brave new students making their first QSOs in the heat of the contest. We made lots of alumni contacts and heard a multitude of 'GO BLUE!' exclamations, too." - KA8WFC (@ Univ. of Michigan W8UM)

"This year we were able to get our participation level way up. Saturday evening we had over 15 people in the shack operating, spotting and observing. It was a real party! At one point we got our interim Dean of the College Tom Fuller N9UF to operate the radio with his Administrative Assistant Linda Cunningham KC0THU on the logging computer. They added some important multipliers to our score. We also enjoyed a brief 6:30 AM chat on Sunday with the great team at Hesston College." - N9IH (@ Principia College N9YN)

"We only made two contacts more than last year, but last year the participation of FAU ARC members was better. KI4WFJ made a total of eleven contacts, but this was his first contest. I think I can coach him to participate more in upcoming contests ;)" - W4RIS (@ Florida Atlantic Univ. K4FAU)

"After several training sessions in the Hesston College computer lab and Friday night on-the-air practice, four students and three faculty/staff operators were READY! It was great to chat with the other school stations including some we've never worked before. It was also fun to see the confidence in our students build as the hours went by and they took their turns helping at the run station." - W0BH (@ Hesston College K0HC)

"Many thanks to K6IF for opening the contest with stellar rates on 15 meters and 40 meters. He also snagged 69 of the 79 mults we gathered in the first four hours. He also loaned us his Ameritron AL-12 legal limit amplifier. The Beverages worked well on 80 meters - thanks to those that helped get them sorted out in time for the contest." - N6CCH (@ Stanford Univ. W6YX)

"Propagation was very unusual and seemed very focused for much of the time. For example, I worked many Santa Clara Valley stations but got Los Angeles only once near the end. I never got Western Pennsylvania. On the other hand, many stations took the time to ask what school we were from, adding a more personal feeling to the event." - K3BXH (@ Univ. of Pennsylvania W3ABT)

Participation by Conference

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

N/A                  1     1       1
                    ---   ---     ---
                    10    17      27

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