UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE

University Challenge is a television programme broadcast by the BBC. It is a competition to find the best University in the British Isles, and takes the form of a general knowledge quiz. Teams of four are entered. The programme was axed in the 1980s by the BBC but was resurrected in 1992 with a new host, a new set, and jazzed up theme music. The format for the quiz is very simple. Both teams compete to answer starter questions which are worth 10 points, but with a 5 point penalty for interrupting the question incorrectly. Once a team has answered a starter question, it gets three bonus questions, worth 5 points each. At the end of the game (appx. 25 mins) the team with the most points has won. In each game there are two picture rounds, and a music round.

The current University Challenge champions are Durham University, who won the 1999/2000 competition, beating Oriel (Oxford) convincingly in the final. It was the second year in a row that Oriel came runners-up. Find out here why controversy followed the 1998/99 final.

The Draw

From the teams which entered the competition, numbers were reduced to 28 teams through (unbroadcast) qualifying rounds. These 28 teams were drawn in pairs to give 14 First Round matches. The four highest scoring runners-up in the first round qualify for the First Round Play-Offs, from which two teams, together with the 14 First Round winners form the 16 teams entered into the Second Round. From then losing teams are eliminated, winners going through to the next round, culminating in the final.

Click here for the results for the 1998/99 competition

The 1999/2000 Competition Full Results

First Round

First Round Play-Offs

Second Round

Third Round

Semi - Finals

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