I'll take 'Jeopardy! College Winners' for $800

By James Hill III

"You know you have to answer everything you get asked in the form of a question over the next month now, right?" I heard this comment from a few people after I told them that I was going to be a contestant on the Jeopardy! College Championship, and honestly, it never got old.

I couldn't think of a more awesome way for me, as a freshman, to begin winter quarter than by flying down to Hollywood for a once in a lifetime opportunity to compete on this long-running television show. I look back still amazed at how this all happened.

Over the years, I had taken the online test for the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament twice, but never received a call or e-mail saying I had made it through to the second round of auditions. Now that I was going to be a freshman at Santa Clara, I qualified for the College Championship, and it was a no-brainer to take the College Online Test.

The online test consists of fifty answers on fifty different topics and it's your job to give the appropriate question to as many as possible over fifteen minutes. I received an e-mail stating that I had qualified for the second round of auditions in Culver City, CA, and drove down there in early November. From the tens of thousands, approximately 300 received this shot at the show.

Once I got down to the audition location, a Radisson hotel's business room, I met 17 other students from the western area of the U.S. There were also auditions in four other locations and three per day. Since 15 contestants qualified for the show, it was a reasonable guess that only one contestant per audition would make it to the show. I took another test, played a mock game, was interviewed and then had to wait. On Dec. 3, I got a phone call while sitting with two friends from one of the show's casting directors.

They had told us after the audition that everyone would be notified by Dec. 20 and that if they needed to clarify any information on the application they would call before then, so I naturally assumed this was just a clarification call.

But after running through the list of questions, I was informed that I had been chosen as one of the fifteen contestants for the 2010 Jeopardy! College Championship!

I've communicated a few times with Bryan Stofferahn '98, Santa Clara's only previous contestant -- a semi-finalist in 1998. Among other things, he told me to "go big or go home." With this opportunity, I had every intention of doing just that.

After some ultimately failed attempts to get Bucky the Bronco down to the taping -- no one could miss the first week with me to wear the costume -- I cleared things with the school as much as possible, notified Michael Engh, S.J. and wrapped up finals.

Normally during winter break I'm looking forward to Christmas. This year though, Christmas was but one -- admittedly exciting -- day in between the last day of fall quarter and Sunday, Jan. 3. Then I would fly down to Burbank and kick back in the Universal Hilton -- all expenses paid by Jeopardy!/Sony Pictures -- for a couple of days before the first day of taping, Jan. 5th. Finally, flight day arrived, and before I knew it, I was sitting in a plush hotel room minutes from Hollywood.

We had one free day that I used to rest, go watch a live taping of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson -- a hilarious and highly recommended experience if you're ever in the area -- and check out a couple of the major college football games on that night.

On the day of taping, I walked down to the hotel lobby and met the other 15 contestants -- 14 competitors and one alternate.

We all immediately got along, though I must admit I began mentally sizing up my competitors -- five from Ivy League Universities, the rest spread out across the country. The casting director, Maggie, gave us instructions on how the game would occur once we reached the studio and we discussed a variety of semi-geeky topics -- Battlestar Galactica and musical theater among others.

The Jeopardy! studios are amazing. It was quite the experience to see the big board in real life, meet Alex -- who was quite the zany host -- and hang out with the other contestants in between rounds. We watched "(500) Days of Summer" in the holding room, and I was called out with the third group. I can say that it was an awesome experience. We filmed ten matches in two days and, after going home, I couldn't wait for the airdate.

I've been greatly encouraged by all of the support I have received from my fellow Broncos; the media attention and near-constant well-wishing is quite surreal. Ultimately, it was great to sit and watch the show with everyone!

Contact James Hill III at jhill@scu.edu or at (408) 554-1918.