TU music professor Jonathan Hugendubler’s three-game “Jeopardy!” streak garnered more than $66,000 in winnings and admiration from the TU community. It also earned the attention of “Jeopardy!” producers, who invited him back to compete in the Champions Wildcard Tournament this Thursday.

The two-week tournament is part of the trivia show’s annual postseason. In it, 15 past winners return to the Alex Trebek Stage to vie for a spot in the Tournament of Champions. From there, winners progress to the “Jeopardy!” Invitational and then the “Jeopardy!” Masters, which brings together an elite mix of contestants from past and current seasons to compete for $500,000. It’s essentially the Super Bowl of “Jeopardy!”.

“Getting on the show is so hard in and of itself, so to not only get on but do well enough to be invited back for a tournament is a huge honor,” Hugendubler says. “I was grateful to get another shot because last time I left feeling like I had more in the tank.”

Getting on the show is so hard in and of itself, so to not only get on but do well enough to be invited back for a tournament is a huge honor.

Jonathan Hugendubler

Hugendubler became a "Jeopardy!" fan in college, signed up for his first "Jeopardy!" entrance test in 2014 and made it through the show’s notoriously difficult selection process to first compete in July 2025. There, he defeated 16-game champion Scott Riccardi in a come-from-behind win to earn a spot on the show’s season 42 premiere. During that game he racked up $40,000 in winnings—the third-highest one-game winnings of any season premiere—before being defeated in his third appearance.

Hugendubler is an accomplished trivia host, saxophonist and music composer who teaches creative music technology in TU's College of Fine Arts and Communication.

He prepared for the game show by practicing up to 20 hours a week, using flashcards, watching past episodes and employing a practice buzzer to improve his rhythm and speed.

Tune in to see how he does when the show airs at 7 p.m. eastern on Fox. Viewers outside the Baltimore metro area can check local listings for run times in their area.