Solutions

Solution 1

Reform the existing sponsor structure

The simplest path. Keep the regional sponsor model, but tie the existing financial incentives to actual advancement of spellers, not just enrollment of schools.

Tie the $18 credit to advancement, not enrollment alone. Scripps currently gives Regional Partners an $18 credit for every school enrolled. As documented on this site, that credit can fully offset a sponsor's partnership fee, meaning the worst-allocating sponsors pay $0 in net fees while serving hundreds of schools per nationals seat. The credit could be conditioned on meeting an advancement threshold. One possibility: only sponsors whose schools-per-speller ratio is 75:1 or better receive the full credit. Sponsors with higher ratios receive a reduced credit, proportional to how far they exceed the threshold. The financial incentive shifts from "enroll more schools" to "advance more spellers."

Accountability on event spending. Some regional sponsors spend lavishly on the event itself, premium venues, custom merchandise, professional photography, full event staffs, while sending few spellers to nationals. The Carolina Panthers, for instance, host their regional bee at Bank of America Stadium's platinum club suite, complete with metal-detector security, elevator attendants, ushers, food service staff, and custom jerseys and footballs for the top 4 finishers, then send only 4 spellers to nationals from 920 enrolled schools. A modest event at a local high school auditorium would free substantial budget for additional speller advancement. Sponsors could be required to publicly report what they spend on the event versus what they spend on sending spellers, similar to how nonprofits report program vs. administrative spending. Transparency does the heavy lifting.

Public reporting. Right now, sponsors don't disclose their enrollment, advancement counts, or event expenses publicly. Requiring annual disclosure, and showing it side-by-side across all sponsors, would make over- and under-performance visible without Scripps having to enforce anything directly.

Solution 2

A targeted wild-card program

Scripps could create a new invitational program, distinct from the original RSVBee, specifically targeted to the regions where current sponsor allocation falls short of what enrollment justifies.

The shortfall, by the numbers. Based on a 75:1 schools-per-speller target (still substantial competition, but bounded and consistent), the US currently sends 235 spellers to nationals when it should send approximately 310. The shortfall is heavily concentrated in just six states:

• Texas: 21 spellers short
• Georgia: 18 spellers short
• Arizona: 12 spellers short
• Alabama: 9 spellers short
• Kansas: 8 spellers short
• North Carolina: 6 spellers short

Plus smaller shortfalls in Colorado, Arkansas, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and over a dozen other states. A targeted wild-card program addressing these specific gaps would add roughly 75 spellers to the National Bee, distributed precisely where the structural shortfall is largest. This isn't a broad-access program; it's a surgical correction.

→ View the full state-by-state shortfall analysis (XLSX)

Funding options. Two structures could work. First: self-pay with means-tested financial aid, similar to the original RSVBee but with more aid available. Second: a dedicated wild-card sponsor, a single national underwriter who covers the cost of every wild-card invitee. Either model preserves the regional sponsor structure while patching its largest documented gaps.

Why this is more politically feasible than the other options. It doesn't require any existing sponsor to change behavior. It doesn't require structural reform of the partnership model. It simply adds capacity where the system is currently leaving spellers behind.

Solution 3

Replace regional sponsors with state bees

The most ambitious option. Scripps could retire the patchwork of 194 regional sponsors and replace it with 50 state-level bees, with allocation tied transparently to school enrollment.

How it works. One or more national sponsors fund the entire state-level infrastructure. Scripps would determine the financial need based on staffing needed to secure venues, officials, and run the bees in each state. School and County bees would still operate as they do now and schools would still enroll with Scripps for the same enrollment fee. The number of spellers each state advances to the National Bee is determined by a transparent formula based on how many schools that state has enrolled. This eliminates the sponsor-by-sponsor negotiation each year. Every speller in the country has the same odds of making it to nationals.

The broadcast opportunity. Scripps already partners with ION to broadcast the national finals. State bees in March could be broadcast on the same network, building a story across the spring. Parents and viewers in each state would see their state's bee, get invested in their state's spellers, and follow them into the national bee in May. The audience expands. The brand value to Scripps and to a national sponsor grows. The structural inequity disappears.

Why this is the hardest option. It requires Scripps to build the operational infrastructure to run 50 state bees including staff, technology, regional coordination. It requires existing regional sponsors to be transitioned out of their current role, however a large number of current regional partners are counties who would still run their county bee, only wouldn't be required to pay the sponsor fee to send spellers to the national competition. And it requires Scripps to secure national-scale sponsorship. The spelling bee has run on the regional sponsor model for decades, so this is a substantial organizational lift. But the upside is a fairer system, a bigger broadcast audience, and a clearer brand.

We want to hear from you

These are not the only paths forward. If you're inside the spelling world and you have a proposal we haven't considered, or you want to push back on one of these, send it. We'll read every submission and feature the strongest ones on this page.