The tournament is sponsored by the American Forensic Association with the Ford Motor Company Fund.
The National Debate Tournament (NDT) began in 1947 at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
[1] Twenty-nine schools competed at the first NDT debating: "Resolved: That labor should be given a direct share in the management of industry".
It remained at West Point through 1966, at which time the Tournament Director met with the district chairs and advised them that at the tournament banquet of the Military Academy's decision to discontinue hosting the NDT in the ensuing years in part because of the increased demands on space and money that the United States' growing involvement in the Vietnam War was placing on the Academy.
Wake Forest University maintains a list of earlier resolutions used at the National Debate Tournament.