STANFORD UNIVERSITY
JUNIOR NICO MARTINEZ
TAKES FIRST PLACE IN 2005
“JEOPARDY!” COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIP,
WINS $100,000 GRAND PRIZE

(CULVER CITY, CA, NOVEMBER 18th, 2005) — What is a noteworthy achievement for your post-college resume?!  Tonight, Nico Martinez, a student at Stanford University, made his statement, winning the 2005 JEOPARDY! College Championship. Taped at NC State in Raleigh, North Carolina, Martinez took home the grand prize of $100,000 cash by outscoring 14 undergraduates from across the country during the exciting two-week tournament.

“Winning was just unbelievable,” said the 21-year-old junior.  “To have my family and friends in the audience was truly special.  I remember when it was announced that I won, I didn't really know what to do!  I was in kind of a surreal state.  I will always look back on my JEOPARDY! memories, and think that this experience was one of the best times of my life.” 

When asked what he’ll do with his winnings, Martinez said, “I would love to go to Rio de Janeiro for Spring Break, but I would also like to invest some of it and maybe help pay tuition.” The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan native is currently pursuing a major in Political Science with a minor in Geological/Environmental Science.

Martinez enjoys playing tennis, going on road trips, listening to Colombian music and, of course, watching JEOPARDY! 

While Martinez won the grand prize of $100,000, Adam Pinson, a senior at the University of Alabama (at Birmingham), finished second, winning $50,000.  Third place winner Jayanth Iyengar, a junior at Washington University in St. Louis, pocketed $25,000.

JEOPARDY!, a winner of 25 Emmy awards since its debut in 1984, was recently inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most awards won by a TV Game Show. The series is the #1-rated quiz show in syndication, and has held that title for over 1,000 weeks. JEOPARDY! continues to be a ratings champion. 

JEOPARDY! is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, and is distributed domestically by King World Productions, Inc.  The series is also distributed internationally by CBS Paramount International Television.