Concordia College Alabama’s quiz bowl team is going for the goal the second time around. 

The group, which includes about a dozen  participants, took part in a scrimmage against Stillman College Saturday on the CCA campus. The team is scheduled to join an additional scrimmage against Tuskegee University Jan. 24 before heading to the National Qualifying Tournament to be held at Alabama State University Jan. 31.

“We’re practicing with some of the best teams,” said Chinwe Okeke, CCA assistant professor of biology. “[Stillman College] is a playoff team and has been in the competition for a long time, so we’re just trying to get better working with them.”

Known as the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge, the annual contest allows historical black colleges and universities to battle in the regional and national quiz bowl contests that question students in various categories, including math, pop culture, history and more. In the upcoming regional completions, CCA and 10 other teams will participate in both quiz bowl matches and a social media contest to determine who will move forward to the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship Tournament.

The overall winner of the championship, which is set for March 31 in Los Angeles, Calif., will receive a $50,000 grant for their university of college.

CCA took part in the challenge for the first time last year.

“We want to focus on scholastic excellence here at Concordia and so this is one of the programs that is doing just that,” Okeke said.

Last year CCA competitors walked away from the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship Tournament as winners of the Facebook competition and recipients of a $4,000 grant.

Okeke said the $50,000 grant to be given to this year’s overall winner would be much appreciated at CCA.

“We would just let our school decide how they use it best,” Okeke said. “We trust them, because we’re a family at Concordia College.”

Okeke she also said that no matter whether the team wins or loses the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship Tournament, the experience in itself is “priceless and [worth] much more than $50,000.”

Okeke said watching the students arrive early in the mornings and late at night to practice for the contest has stood as a testament to how dedicated students are to the challenge.

“Stressing education, that’s the real reward for this,” Okeke said. “They have a networking opportunity that is second to none to meet the brightest students across the country.”

Member Avonne Rice, a pop culture wiz, said the growing she has built with her fellow members has made the experience one to remember.

“Being on the quiz bowl team, to me, has brought me a family,” Rice said.