Matt was a dedicated and accomplished Quiz Bowler throughout his college career. As an undergraduate at Iowa State, he participated in tournaments throughout the country. He had continued to be active in Quiz Bowl and had just completed his first semester of graduate study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, when he suddenly contracted acute pancreatitis. He died on January 2, 2005.
We began our buzzer grant program in 2005, hoping to continue Matt's love for Quiz Bowl and to help make it possible for Middle and High School students to participate with all of the requisite equipment. Our program has grown to also include Elementary School students, Home School students, and 4-H members who participate on an organized Academic or Quiz Team.
Our application window for our September 2026 selection will be from now until September 5, 2026. Ten recipients will be chosen randomly on Saturday, September 12, 2026.
If you would like to be considered for a Matt's Buzzers Grant for September 2026, please complete and submit the application found on our 'Application' page. If you are having problems submitting the application through our website, please email the contact information for your school, coach and team to mattsbuzzers@gmail.com. We would also love to hear a little bit about your school and your team. Thank you so much! Our grants will be $250 per team. We plan to randomly select ten teams to receive grants. We may also subjectively select 1 or 2 teams to also receive grants. Our 2026 selections will be made on Saturday, September 5, 2026.
If your team does not receive a Matt's Buzzers grant in our drawing and you are intrested in a used/refurbished buzzer system, please let me know and I may be able to put you in touch with someone who has them available.
Please check our Facebook page for news and updates as the school year progresses.
We'd like to thank the following companies specializing in buzzer systems who have partnered with us to offer a 15% discount toward the purchase of a buzzer system by any Matt's Buzzers grant recipient.
4 D Designs Quik Pro Buzzer Systems is also offering a 15% discount on books and CDs when you mention Matt's Buzzers!
Quiz Bowl Cowboys LLC (QuizBowl Systems) is proud to support Matt's Buzzers in their mission to help schools acquire buzzer systems for academic competition. Grant receipients are encouraged to contact us at info@quizbowlsystems.com for a special offer on a new software/buzzer package. Be sure to mention Matt's Buzzers in the subject line!
We are not a 501(c)(3) organization but we appreciate those who choose to donate anyway. Thank you all very much!