Brendon Bankey

Brendon Bankey serves as an Assistant Professor of Instruction and Director of Debate in the Department of Communication Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. He additionally directs the University of Texas National Institute in Forensics and the Longhorn Classic national high school speech and debate tournament.

His educational background includes a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas, an M.A. in Communication Studies from Wake Forest University, and a B.A. in Speech Communication from Trinity University.

Dr. Bankey's expertise centers on argumentation theory, persuasive communication, and competitive debate pedagogy. With fifteen years of intercollegiate policy debate coaching and twelve years of undergraduate instruction experience, he has significantly shaped debate education through curriculum development in argumentation frameworks and public speaking methodologies.

His notable recognitions include:

• Lucy M. Keele Award for Excellence in Service (National Debate Tournament)
• Outstanding New Director Award (American Debate Association)

Dr. Bankey has held pivotal leadership roles including NDT District III Chair, CEDA President, and College Public Forum League board member. His coaching achievements encompass a CEDA national championship, ADA national runner-up finish, top-five regular season ranking, and multiple American Forensic Association NDT-NST/NIET Joint Awards for program excellence. He has mentored championship-caliber teams while developing competitive forensics curricula for both collegiate and high school levels.

Through the University of Texas National Institute in Forensics, he operates an intensive summer training program, and the Longhorn Classic tournament under his direction remains a premier national qualifying event for high school debaters.