It's Academic

Storyline

It's Academic is a televised academic quiz competition for high school students, airing on two NBC affiliates in Washington, D.C. and Central Virginia and one CBS affiliate Baltimore, Maryland. The show has been on the air since October 7, 1961, making it the longest continuously-running television quiz show ever. The program was created by Sophie Altman, who continued as executive producer until her death on May 24, 2008. Mac McGarry hosted the Washington shows from the beginning until June 25, 2011. Hillary Howard, a news anchor for the radio station WTOP-FM, took over as host subsequent to McGarry's official retirement in November 2011. The Baltimore show is hosted by David Zahren. The show features three local high school teams of three players each. Over the years, chief sponsor Giant Food has given more than $2,000,000 in scholarship funds to participating schools. The single-elimination tournament features 81 schools in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, 81 schools in the Baltimore metropolitan region, and 9 schools in the Central Virginia region. The winners in each region go on to battle each other in the Super Bowl. The record-high score of 935 is held by Centennial High School in Ellicott City, Maryland, achieved in 2000.