"I have an innate inability to forget," University of Rochester senior Colin Brown wryly observes.
It's a talent that's useful not just for class, but qualifies him for the 2005 Jeopardy! College Championship this weekend.
Brown will compete against 14 other students from colleges around the nation for the quiz show's grand prize of $100,000 and a specially designed trophy. Episodes are being taped at North Carolina State University in Raleigh on Oct. 1 and 2 and are scheduled to air nationally Nov. 7 to 18.
Brown says he's been a watching Jeopardy! as long as he can remember—except not in Rochester, where he doesn't have a television at school. But catching the series at home this summer, he saw promos for its annual college competition. He applied and was called to audition, a process that included a test, a mock interview, and a round of competition.
Brown notes he's not doing any special last-minute studying or practice runs to prepare for the matches. "It's supposed to be a fun competition, and my friends are coming to join me," he says. "The main thing is to relax so I can enjoy the whole event.",/p>
A political science major, Brown is from Milwaukie, Ore.
Each Jeopardy! contestant will appear in one of the first five episodes of the college competition. The winners of each of these shows, along with the next four highest money earners, go on to the semi-finals. The nine semi-finalists will compete over three episodes for a place in the two-game final match. Jeopardy! debuted in 1984 and is the top-rated syndicated quiz show.