{"id":13533,"date":"2026-04-13T09:08:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13533"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:08:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:08:49","slug":"uw-stevens-point-student-transitions-behind-the-pen-writes-questions-for-the-worlds-largest-trivia-contest","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uw-stevens-point-student-transitions-behind-the-pen-writes-questions-for-the-worlds-largest-trivia-contest\/","title":{"rendered":"UW-Stevens Point student transitions behind the pen, writes questions for the World\u2019s Largest Trivia Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photo<\/a>
Frank Ross has spent several months contributing to writing questions for the World\u2019s Largest Trivia Contest, an event he has participated in since he was a kid.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is pursuing a lifelong dream and leaving an impact on an internationally recognized event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each year, thousands of participants from around the country gather in Stevens Point to participate in the World\u2019s Largest Trivia Contest, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point\u2019s student-run radio station 90FM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank Ross, Milton, is studying management in the Sentry School of Business and Economics at UW-Stevens Point, a decision that was influenced by participating in the contest growing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComing to Stevens Point and hearing the same voices on the radio and the birds outside of my grandfather\u2019s house in the spring every year are some of my favorite memories from growing up,\u201d Ross said. \u201cOne of the big draws in deciding where I wanted to go to college was being closer to home, and the opportunity to work behind the scenes with Trivia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ross was nine months old during his first Trivia contest. Jim Oliva (left) and Ross\u2019 mother Melissa Joy (right) pictured.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ross\u2019 family participates in Trivia as Gene Autry\u2019s Ninja Warriors. The team was originally established in 1987 by his mom, uncles and grandparents, and as they have grown families of their own, they have continued to gather in Stevens Point each year to participate. At any given time more than 30 people will join the Warriors throughout the weekend, and they have become a recognized name amongst fellow competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this year Ross will not be joining his family in playing Trivia. Instead, he has spent the last several months behind the pen, writing the questions that will be read on air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contest runs for 54 hours, and teams answer eight questions per hour along with additional challenges throughout the course of this marathon weekend. No resource is off limits, and no team is too big or small, making this event one of a kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many years, the contest was written and coordinated by Jim Oliva, who many Stevens Point natives know as \u201cThe Oz\u201d, and John Eckendorf. In 2023, Amherst native and long-time trivia player Dave Coulthurst, also known as DAC, took over writing the contest with the help of a student co-writer. He hoped that by bringing a student perspective to the table, the contest could draw in younger audiences and have a more modern twist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to write the contest with students because I value the fresh angles youth can add to it,\u201d Coulthurst said. \u201cThere\u2019s also a big difference in the way older Trivia players and younger Trivia players consume media. Since this is a pop culture contest, we need to have that perspective in what we ask about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the fall of 2025 Coulthurst was in search of new students to help, and Ross immediately knew he wanted to throw his hat in the ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen DAC (Coulthurst) came to a 90FM general staff meeting and announced that he was looking for a new co-writer, I approached him and expressed my interest along with another student. I was so excited that he asked me to join him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Ross has been working with Coulthurst, along with fellow student Marna Andre. Together, they have the daunting task of writing 428 questions for Trivia 56, themed \u201cThe Love Contest.\u201d For Ross, this has been an exciting endeavor that he never dreamed he would pursue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember back in 2019 when Oz made his retirement announcement, and we were joking about who on our team could take over next,\u201d Ross said. \u201cSeven years ago, I never even thought this was a possibility, so having this opportunity is hard to put into words.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the contest quickly approaching, Ross looks forward to experiencing the weekend from a new perspective. One of the things he\u2019s most looking forward to is being able to outwit participants and write the types of questions that stump players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to see how many people complain about questions I\u2019ve written. I want to make the players as upset as I can, in the sense that they can\u2019t figure out what I\u2019m asking them for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although this year\u2019s Triva theme serves as a nod to several love-related pop culture icons, Coulthurst\u2019s intention in choosing the theme was to highlight the relationships that the contest has forged over its 56 year history. For Ross, this not only represents the bond that he has with his family, but with the friends he has made at 90FM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMyself and many others have met their significant others and close friends through Trivia and working with 90FM. Building relationships is exactly what we\u2019re referencing in the theme,\u201d Ross said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Coulthurst, having a student who highly reveres the contest as a co-writer has been a great asset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrank is a Trivia lifer,\u201d Coulthurst said. \u201cHe\u2019s been a part of 90FM and the contest for a few years now. From volunteering with him, I know he cares about the station, the contest and what both of them mean to the community. If you have that, you know that writing the contest is a privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside of Trivia, Ross is an involved 90FM volunteer. He previously served as news director, and has hosted several talk and specialty programs, which earned him an award at the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Student Seminar in February. Although he hopes to use his degree to work in the hospitality industry rather than broadcasting, he says that the skills and relationships he gained from being involved at 90FM are immeasurable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing else like this at UW-Stevens Point,\u201d Ross said.  \u201cBeing able to be on the radio and do so regardless of your major is fantastic. I\u2019m not a media studies major, but I still find incredible joy in volunteering, and I have learned a lot from it.  It helped me get over my fear of public speaking, and the sense of community that 90FM and Trivia has is one of a kind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trivia 56: THE LOVE CONTEST is set to take place April 17-19, and registration begins April 13. For more information on how you can participate in the World\u2019s Largest Trivia Contest on 90FM, visit https:\/\/90fmtrivia.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is pursuing a lifelong dream and leaving an impact on an internationally recognized event. Each year, thousands of participants from around the country gather in Stevens Point to participate in the World\u2019s Largest Trivia Contest, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point\u2019s student-run radio station 90FM. Frank […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":13534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[95],"story_category":[147],"class_list":["post-13533","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-stevens-point","story_category-community"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13533"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}