Root Negative One, FIRST Tech Challenge Hall of Fame Team 9879, is a community-based team of students from Northwest Arkansas, USA. For eight seasons, our team team was affiliated with the Don Tyson School of Innovation (DTSOI) in Springdale, Arkansas. We derived our team name from the DTSOI name and our appreciation for mathematics. In Springdale, DTSOI was originally nicknamed the “I-School.” In complex mathematics, the letter i often is used to represent the imaginary number, the square root of negative one.
Our team was created in the summer of 2015 by our lead coaches, Dr. Richard Cassady and Dr. Chase Rainwater. Dr. Cassady and Dr. Rainwater are both industrial engineering professors at the University of Arkansas and residents of Springdale. They both had extensive experience with FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Robotics Competition, and Dr. Cassady’s oldest son was a new DTSOI student.
Our team was created in the summer of 2015 by our lead coaches, Dr. Richard Cassady and Dr. Chase Rainwater. Dr. Cassady and Dr. Rainwater are both industrial engineering professors at the University of Arkansas and residents of Springdale. They both had extensive experience with FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Robotics Competition, and Dr. Cassady’s oldest son was a new DTSOI student.
CENTERSTAGE 2023-2024
FTC Arkansas Championship (traditional)
Robot Game Performance:
Qualification: 6-0-0, 1st of 19
Winning Alliance Captain, 1st Seed
Judged Awards:
Inspire Award Winner
Dean's List Finalist
Compass Award Winner
Control Award 2nd Place
Robot Game Performance:
Qualification: 6-0-0, 1st of 19
Winning Alliance Captain, 1st Seed
Judged Awards:
Inspire Award Winner
Dean's List Finalist
Compass Award Winner
Control Award 2nd Place
POWERPLAY 2022-2023
FTC Houston World Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 6-5-0, 19th of 48 |
FTC Alabama Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 4-2-0, 6th of 26 Finalist Alliance, 1st Pick of 4th Seed Judged Awards: Inspire Award 2nd place Think Award Winner |
FTC Arkansas Championship (traditional)
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 4-2-0, 6th of 25 Semi-Finalist Alliance, 1st Pick of 2nd Seed Judged Awards: Dean's List Finalist Think Award Winner Compass Award Winner Innovate Award 2nd Place |
FREIGHT FRENZY 2021-2022
FTC Houston World Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 1061 points (3-5-0), 69th of 80 FTC Tennessee Championship (traditional) Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 600 points (2-3-0), 5th of 25 Semi-Finalist Alliance, Captain, 3rd Seed Judged Awards: Design Award Winner |
FTC Alabama Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 1092 points (5-1-0), 2nd of 19 Semi-Finalist Alliance, Captain, 2nd Seed Judged Awards: Inspire Award 2nd place Think Award Winner FTC Arkansas Little Rock Scrimmage Robot Game Performance: 760 points (3-3-0), 2nd of 7 |
FTC Arkansas Championship (traditional)
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 1046 points (5-1-0), 6th of 23 Finalist Alliance, 1st Pick of 2nd Seed Judged Awards: Two Dean's List Finalists Think Award Winner Promote Award Winner |
ULTIMATE GOAL 2020-2021
FTC Chicago Robotics Invitational
(off-season, traditional) Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 1745 points (3-3-0), 2nd of 22 Winning Alliance, 1st Pick of 1st Seed FTC Alabama Championship (remote) Robot Game Performance: 1642 points, 1st of 10, Top Ranked Award Judged Awards: Inspire Award Winner Think Award 2nd Place Connect Award 3rd Place Innovate Award 2nd Place Design Award 2nd Place FTC Arkansas Remote Scrimmage #2 Robot Game Performance: 1089 points, 2nd of 6 |
FTC Ultimate Rematch (off-season, traditional)
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 2312 points (8-1-0), 2nd of 8 Winning Alliance Captain, 2nd Seed FTC Arkansas Remote Scrimmage #3 Robot Game Performance: 1042 points, 2nd of 7 FTC Alabama Remote Scrimmage #2 Robot Game Performance: 757 points, 2nd of 9 |
FTC Arkansas Championship (traditional)
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 1515 points (5-1-0), 3rd of 17 Winning Alliance, 1st Pick of 1st Seed Judged Awards: Dean's List Finalist Think Award Winner Winning Alliance, 1st Pick of 1st Seed Connect Award 3rd Place Promote Award Winner FTC Alabama Remote Scrimmage #3 Robot Game Performance: 1204 points, 2nd of 9 FTC Arkansas Remote Scrimmage #1 Robot Game Performance: 676 points, 3rd of 6 |
SKYSTONE 2019-2020
FTC Tulsa League Invitational (unofficial)
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 5-1-0, 1st of 11 Finalist Alliance Captain, 1st Seed FTC Arkansas Springdale Qualifier #2 Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 6-0-0, 1st of 14 Winning Alliance Captain, 1st Seed Judged Awards: Inspire Award Winner Control Award Winner |
FTC Alabama Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 4-1-0, 1st of 25 Winning Alliance Captain, 1st Seed Judged Awards: Innovate Award Winner Compass Award Winner FTC Arkansas Springdale Qualifier #1 Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 4-1-0, 2nd of 15 Finalist Alliance, 1st Pick of 1st Seed Judged Awards: Connect Award Winner Inspire Award 2nd Place Control Award 3rd Place |
FTC Arkansas Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 5-1-0, 3rd of 23 Finalist Alliance, 1st Pick of 1st Seed Judged Awards: Inspire Award Winner Two Dean's List Finalists Promote Award Winner FTC Arkansas Hot Springs Qualifier Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-1-1, 5th of 15 Semi-Finalist Alliance Captain (#4 Seed) Judged Awards: Connect Award Winner Inspire Award 2nd Place Control Award 2nd Place |
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: FIRST Global Team USA 2019 (Dubai)
Robot Game Performance:
Qualification: 5-4-0, 62nd of 189
Judged Awards:
2nd Place Katherine Johnson Award for Engineering Documentation
Qualification: 5-4-0, 62nd of 189
Judged Awards:
2nd Place Katherine Johnson Award for Engineering Documentation
ROVER RUCKUS 2018-2019
FTC Houston World Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 5-4-0, 24th of 80 Judged Awards: Inspire Award Winner Dean's List Winner Promote Award Finalist FTC Tennessee Championship Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-1-1, 11th of 28 Finalist Alliance, 1st Pick of 1st Seed Judged Awards: Connect Award Winner Compass Award Winner Inspire Award 2nd Place FTC Arkansas Helena Qualifier Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 5-0-0, 1st of 13 Winning Alliance Captain, 1st Seed Judged Awards: Think Award Winner Inspire Award 2nd Place Connect Award 2nd Place Control Award 2nd Place |
FTC Tulsa League Invitational (unofficial)
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-3-0, 4th of 9 Winning Alliance, 1st Pick of 1st Seed People’s Choice Awards: Best Presentation Award Winner Best Robot Design Award Winner FTC Alabama Championship Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 5-1-0, 3rd of 21 Winning Alliance Captain, 3rd Seed Judged Awards: Inspire Award Winner Think Award 2nd Place Connect Award 2nd Place Innovate Award 3rd Place Design Award 2nd Place Motivate Award 2nd Place FTC Arkansas Mountain Home Qualifier Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 4-1-0, 3rd of 15 Winning Alliance, 1st Pick of 1st Seed Judged Awards: Inspire Award Winner Think Award 2nd Place Connect Award 2nd Place Innovate Award 2nd Place Design Award 2nd Place Motivate Award 2nd Place Control Award 2nd Place |
FTC Arkansas Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 6-0-0, 2nd of 25 Semi-Finalist Alliance Captain (#2 Seed) Judged Awards: Think Award Winner Two Dean’s List Finalists Connect Award Finalist Design Award Finalist Motivate Award Finalist FTC Arkansas Hot Springs Qualifier Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 5-0-0, 2nd of 13 Winning Alliance Captain, 2nd Seed Judged Awards: Think Award Winner Connect Award 2nd Place Innovate Award 3rd Place Control Award 2nd Place |
RELIC RECOVERY 2017-2018
FTC Houston World Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-6-0, 45th of 64 Judged Awards: Inspire Award Finalist Think Award Finalist FTC Oklahoma Cascia Hall Qualifying Tournament Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 5-0-0, 1st of 15 Winning Alliance Captain, 1st Seed Judged Awards: Inspire Award 2nd Place Think Award Winner Connect Award Finalist Innovate Award Finalist Design Award Finalist Control Award Finalist |
FTC South Super Regional
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 5-4-0, 18th of 36 FTC Arkansas Championship Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-2-0, 11th of 33 Winning Alliance, 1st Pick of 2nd Seed Judged Awards: Inspire Award Winner Dean’s List Finalist Compass Award Winner Think Award 2nd Place Connect Award 2nd Place Design Award 3rd Place Control Award 3rd Place |
FTC Oklahoma Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 5-2-0, 9th of 40 1st Pick of 3rd Seed (lost in semifinals) Judged Awards: Design Award Winner Compass Award Winner Think Award Finalist FTC Oklahoma Bishop Kelley Qualifying Tournament Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 4-1-0, 1st of 12 Winning Alliance, Captain of 1st Seed Judged Awards: Connect Award Winner Think Award Finalist Innovate Award Finalist Design Award Finalist |
VELOCITY VORTEX 2016-2017
FTC Houston World Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-5-1, 45th of 64 Judged Awards: Motivate Award Finalist Compass Award Finalist FTC Oklahoma Tulsa Memorial Qualifying Tournament Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-2-0, 4th of 13 Winning Alliance, 1st Pick of 1st Seed Judged Awards: Inspire Award 3rd Place Connect Award Winner Design Award Finalist Control Award Finalist |
FTC South Super Regional
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-5-1, 29th of 36 Judged Awards: Connect Award Winner FTC Arkansas Championship Robot Game Performance: Qualification:3-2-0, 11th of 36 Judged Awards: Inspire Award 2nd Place Think Award Winner Motivate Award 2nd Place Promote Award 3rd Place |
FTC Oklahoma Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 2-4-0, 26th of 36 Judged Awards: Connect Award Winner Promote Award Winner Think Award Finalist Design Award Finalist Compass Award Finalist |
FIRST RES-Q 2015-2016
FTC South Super Regional
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-6-0, 27th of 36 Judged Awards: Compass Award Finalist Promote Award Finalist FTC Arkansas Championship Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 1-4-0, 34th of 36 Judged Awards: Motivate Award Winner Think Award 2nd Place |
FTC Oklahoma Championship
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-2-0, 8th of 37 2nd Pick of 4th Seed (lost in semifinals) Judged Awards: Inspire Award Winner Promote Award Winner Connect Award Finalist Compass Award Finalist |
FTC Oklahoma Newcastle Qualifying Tournament
Robot Game Performance: Qualification: 3-2-0, 8th of 32 Finalist Alliance, 2nd Pick of 1st Seed Judged Awards: Inspire Award Winner Design Award Winner Control Award Winner Innovate Award Finalist Motivate Award Finalist |