Ken Jennings
| Ken Jennings | |
| |
| Noted subjects | Jeopardy! |
| Past colleges | BYU (1996-2000) |
| Stats | HDWhite • NAQT |
Ken Jennings is a former player for BYU and NAQT member and editor who is best known for his record-setting run on Jeopardy! in the summer of 2004. Jennings won a still-record 74 consecutive games and defeated numerous other quizbowl personalities, including Leo Wolpert and Jeff Hoppes, in the process. He and Mayim Bialik became the hosts of the show in 2021.
Playing career
Jennings was part of of the BYU team from fall 1996 until 1999-2000. In 1998, Adam Fine ranked him as the 81st best quizbowl player he had seen play.
Involvement with quiz bowl
NAQT vs ACF
Shortly after his win streak, Jennings and other NAQT diehards of the mid-'00s attempted to use their success on Jeopardy! to settle a "format war" between ACF and NAQT - the details of this feud are not well-established. This tactic blew up in NAQT's face when Jennings repeatedly lost on Jeopardy to Chip Beall-acolyte Brad Rutter.
Why Does Ken Jennings Play Quiz Bowl?
In 2018, NAQT put out a video featuring Jennings titled "Why Does Ken Jennings Play Quiz Bowl?", in which he describes the advantages that playing quiz bowl has. Like many of his public mentions of quiz bowl, this video features Jennings describing how one can improve at Jeopardy! by participating in the activity.
Slate article
On April 9, 2019, Jennings wrote an article for Slate magazine discussing the relationship between quiz bowl and Jeopardy titled "The Jeopardy! Minor Leagues", in which he stated "quiz bowl—and NAQT in particular—has become a de facto farm system for the brains you see on Jeopardy! every night"[1]. A short forum discussion followed to discuss the choice of the phrase "minor leagues" and more generally the presentation of quiz bowl to the public.[2]
External Links
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