Liberty junior to compete on ‘Jeopardy! College Championship’ this Friday

A national audience. Fifteen college students. $100,000 on the line.

This Friday, April 10, Liberty University junior Natalie Hathcote will be included in that student pool representing the Flames on one of TV’s most popular quiz shows, “Jeopardy!,” in its annual college tournament.

Nearly 20,000 college students auditioned online in October 2019, and Hathcote was one of 15 who made the final cut. In February, the history and English student’s dream of stepping up to the buzzer became reality when she traveled to California to tape the episode.

“I hope people have fun watching,” Hathcote said from her home in Parker, Colo., this week, where she’ll be watching the episode with her family. “Obviously, the vast majority of us are cooped up and unusually bored right now — I’m actually super thankful to be part of something that gives people a fun way to keep occupied during social distancing.”

The college tournament started on Monday and runs through April 17. The other contestants on Friday are Tyler Combs, a senior at Indiana University (Bloomington, Ind.) and Nibir Sarma, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Hathcote, a standout member of Liberty’s competitive Quiz Bowl team, grew up a devoted “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” fan and was thrilled at the opportunity to compete at the highest level.

Read more about Hathcote on Liberty.edu/News.

Visit jeopardy.com for local listings.