The Student Bar Association and the Ping Pong Club are currently hosting the 2025 Quinney Open, a three-week double elimination ping pong tournament, at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. It’s an event where students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate no matter their skill level.
With play in full swing, the tournament includes both a singles and a doubles bracket and follows the official Olympic rules. The final will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 12 p.m. in the level 1 atrium at the College of Law.
“I love the Quinney Open because so much of the school comes together, and gets into, an event that has nothing to do with law school,” says 3L Bryant McConkie, co-president of the Ping Pong Club. “In addition, I am most looking forward to someone finally dethroning Professor Chris Peterson.”
The origins of this Utah Law tradition are uncertain, as play has ebbed and flowed throughout the years. Plaques displayed proudly in the Graduate Student Lounge list previous ping pong champions as early as 1989—and among them is Professor Chris Peterson, who has won the Quinney Open the last three years running.
“Law school can be a pretty challenging environment, so it’s important to take some time to relax and goof off,” Peterson says about his participation in the tournament. Students, though, offer an alternative perspective about his winning streak.
“I think Professor Chris Peterson’s dominance oddly gives meaning to the school. The whole tournament kind of becomes this David v. Goliath thing where we’re all just playing for an opportunity to lose to Professor Peterson in the championship. Students love rooting against a professor, so that whole dynamic brings an energy to the event that wouldn’t be there if he wasn’t so dominant,” says Jack Wolthuis, a member of the Ping Pong Club helping to orchestrate the tournament.
Professor Cliff Rosky also participates in the tournament and has shared three championships with Peterson on a doubles team. He agrees with Wolthuis that “nothing unites 1Ls, 2Ls, and 3Ls like rooting against their professors!” and recalls how he came to be partnered with Peterson.
“Shortly after I came here 17 years ago, Professor Paul Cassell explained that the faculty wanted to field the best possible doubles team, so I would have to play Paul, Tony Anghie, and Lincoln Davies to determine who would be partnered with Chris. The rest is literally history, hanging from a plaque in the student lounge,” Rosky says.
Yet, for Ping Pong Club members, this sport is more than just another competition and incentive for champions’ bragging rights. Both McConkie and Wolthuis say that playing the game helped them cope with their first years of law school.
“During my 1L and 2L years, I formed great relationships with upperclassmen and professors I otherwise never would have gotten to know. I was also able to breathe a little and vent to my peers about my stresses and frustrations. In essence, ping pong became therapeutic for me, and as funny as it sounds, I think I would have struggled through those first couple of years without it,” McConkie says.
In recent years, the club has purchased two new ping pong tables for the college to enjoy. So why is this game the unifying factor for students, faculty, and staff to gather for a tournament?
“Ping pong is something everyone has played at some point in their life. It is very accessible. Law school can be stressful, and the hours can be long (especially during 1L). I think ping pong gives students an outlet and a good way to get moving without needing to change clothes or get sweaty,” Wolthuis says.
In conjunction with the Quinney Open, Utah Law will celebrate another beloved tradition on Nov. 5: Tracksuit Day. Students are encouraged to wear tracksuits to honor Dean Walter Oberer, who famously wore his tracksuit for his portrait. Oberer was an avid runner (hence the tracksuit) and an expert on labor law.
Former Administrative Director and Chief of Staff Virginia Beane believes this tradition began in the early to mid 2000s and recalls that Oberer’s portrait hung in a prominent spot in the old library building. As such, it was hard for students not to acknowledge his portrait.
“One year for Halloween, some students figured out a way to hang a suit on a hanger from the ceiling in front of Dean Oberer to cover the tracksuit. It looked like Dean Oberer was wearing a regular suit—which was quite entertaining. This was a little surprise for people coming in the library that day,” she says.
Ping pong and tracksuits: Utah Law celebrates these traditions for one reason.
“It’s about the people, not the ping pong. In law school, we can all relate to people trying too hard, looking nerdy, and making fools of themselves,” Rosky says.
Learn more about the Ping Pong Club and how you can join.