It&s not every day that a champion speaks at Sacramento State.

On Friday night, Ken Jennings, the all-time highest &Jeopardy!& champion, will answer questions from the crowd and compete in a &Jeopardy!&-like competition at the University Union Ballroom.

Jennings will speak about topics that include his life, &Nothing is Trivial, &Can You Put a Price On Knowledge& and &The Rewards of Curiosity.&

Dean Sorensen, the University Union program director, said Jennings often draws a crowd on his speaking tour. Jennings, Sorensen added, is popular with the college crowd.

&He has gone to some other colleges successfully,& Sorensen said. &He&s got quite a following.&

Jennings& popularity shot up almost overnight in 2004, when he appeared on &Jeopardy!& for an unprecedented 70-plus times.

He won a record-high $2.35 million in his game show run, earning him the title of the &All-Time Top TV Game Show Winner in the World.&

&Jeopardy!& ratings skyrocketed during Jennings& run on the show. The game show is currently allowing past contestants to compete in a single elimination tournament for the chance to play against Jennings in May.

&There was such a big buzz last year when he was competing,& Sorensen said. &He&s an interesting and engaging guy. People watch TV a lot now and it&s a way to find out what it&s like to be on the show and be on TV.&

The competition segment will occur after the question and answer round. Sorensen said Jennings will compete against a faculty member and Sacramento State&s current College Bowl champion.

Questions will be on a variety of topics and were provided by Microsoft Encarta.

&It&s different,& Sorensen said. &We&re always looking for something fun and different from the typical concert or lecture.&

Sorensen said participants will learn what motivates Jennings and his quest for lifelong learning. He hopes students will be more motivated to learn about the world and their surroundings after Jennings& speech.

&He&s got a philosophy where he thinks it&s real important to learn,& Sorensen said. &He&s going to encourage lifelong learning and interest in a variety of topics. I hope students will be encouraged to go out and learn more about the world.&

The event will begin at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Jennings will be available for autographs after the event ends at 9 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for Sacramento State students and $10 for the general public. Advanced tickets can be purchased at the CSUS Central Ticket Office, (916) 278-4323, on the first floor of the University Union and at tickets.com.

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Brianna Boyd can be reached at

[email protected]