Russ Tidwell, Garden City High School speech and debate coach, was recently informed that he has been selected as a 2026 Inductee into the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Hall of Fame. A coach has to be nominated by another coach and then elected by other veteran coaches and Hall of Fame members. In the 100 years of the organization, only 15 other Kansas coaches have been inducted, and no other Garden City coach has been inducted.
Being chosen for induction is the highest honor that any high school speech and debate coach can receive. Each year, nominations are sought from member coaches. In March, current Hall of Fame members and coaches with at least three diamonds vote to determine which nominees will be elected members of the distinguished body.
Tidwell is a six-diamond coach of the National Speech and Debate Association. He has bee a teacher and a speech and debate coach for 32 years, all at Garden City High School.
He was inducted into The Kansas Debate Coaches Invitational Hall of Fame and named a Finney County Crystal Apple Teacher in 2010. He was placed into the West Kansas NSDA Hall of Fame and was named an NSDA Kansas Educator of the Year in 2018. He was also put into the Kansas Speech Communication Hall of Fame in 2023. He was recently awarded the KNEA Wooten-Hensley Political Achievement Award in April 2026. Tidwell has worked as a KSHSAA Classification Representative for Debate and Speech/Drama. He has served on the NSDA Curriculum Writing committees and has served in the NSDA Supplemental Tab Room for almost 20 years.
Tidwell has been heavily involved in new/young coach mentorship for more than a decade. He has coached multiple state finalists, a state championship team, three NSDA national finalists, and hundreds of outstanding students across his 32 year career.
He has hosted five KSHSAA 6A state tournaments at Garden City High School during his tenure at the school. He is also getting a middle school debate and forensics program up and running at both middle schools in the Garden City Public Schools district during the 2025-2026 school year. The Hall of Fame process and selection is for those debate individuals with 25 years of NSDA coach membership prior to the start of the National Tournament (e.g. a merit date of June 14, 2001, or earlier), or who are retired from coaching and teaching, are eligible to be nominated by their fellow member coaches for this prestigious award.
Annually, the current living Hall of Fame members and NSDA coaches with three or more Diamond Awards vote in March to select that year's four inductees for the NSDA Hall of Fame. The new class is announced in April.
The primary standards to be considered are the following: Service to the National Speech & Debate Association, Chapter awards and recognition, and Record of student success in NSDA competition and state tournaments.
The induction ceremony will be held at the national tournament that will take place in Richmond, Virginia, in June.
The other inductees, and more information about the NSDA Hall of Fame can be found here www.speechanddebate.org/hall-of-fame/.