The Dr. N. Gordon Carper Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 1999 to honor individuals "for meritorious services in sustaining and enriching collegiate academic competitions". The award is presented annually to a member of the quizbowl community who exhibits the kind of dedication to and long-term support of academic competitions as exemplified by career of Dr. Carper. The Carper Award, while sponsored by the Academic Competition Federation (ACF), is not limited to individuals with ACF affiliations.

List of awardees

• 1999 Dr. N. Gordon Carper of Berry College.
• 2000 Dr. Carol Guthrie of the University of Tennessee.
• 2001 Dr. Robert Meredith of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
• 2002 not presented
• 2003 Eric Hillemann of Carleton College
• 2004 Don Windham of the University of Tennessee and Gaius Stern of the University of California, Berkeley
• 2005 Charlie Steinhice of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga