The NEDA All-American awards are presented annually to those students whose tournament, academic, and public activities exemplify the mission of the National Educational Debate Association.

This means that in tournament as well as other public forums: 1) The applicant demonstrates a commitment to ethical communicative advocacy, 2) the applicant’s non-competitive activities demonstrate an appreciation for advocacy as a means of public service and enlightenment; 3) the applicant makes a positive contribution to the activity of debate that transcends an overly competitive focus in favor of service to colleagues, competitors, and listeners; 4) the applicant’s tournament performance would be well suited to a public audience (i.e., in terms of style and content, the applicant’s communication behavior reflects what would prevail in a non-tournament public forum).  Because of these expectations, most recipients are upperclassmen.