These programs are generally open to all students. They send teams to invitational tournaments sponsored by other schools or organizations. For Quiz Bowl, a tournament is a gathering of teams who engage each other in several rounds of games. Intramural tournaments invite students on a given campus to form teams and play. They are often called campus tournaments.
Invitational tournaments involve teams from various schools.
Invitations are sometimes sent to individual programs. However, most tournaments give out open invitations for any school to accept. They have unique rules above their associated formats, usually concerning eligibility and number of teams per school. Junior Bird tournaments are restricted to collegiate players in their first or second season. Freshmen and sophmores are the intended target, but grad students who meet the criteria sometimes play.