‘Jeopardy!’ semifinalist, who is Yancey?

William Yancey, a lecturer in the UTRGV Department of History, advanced with $13,800 to the semifinals of the “Jeopardy!” Champion Wildcard tournament on Jan. 13, an impressive victory that brought him one step closer to the Tournament of Champions.

In an interview with The Rider, Yancey said about his experience, “[the production team] take you into the studio, and when you walk up the steps, there’s a big sign next to the door that says the Alex Trebek stage … I was like, ‘Whoa.’

“… [And] the first time I stood on the stage behind one of the podiums, it really hit me like, ‘Wow, I’m here, this is it.’”  

The Champion Wildcard is a two-week tournament that brings back “Jeopardy!” champions who previously missed out on qualifying for the Tournament of Champions to Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, to compete for the last remaining spot. 

Yancey competed against opponents Paul Clauson, a tax analyst from Michigan, and Jen Feldman, a high school teacher from New York, who he said were “two very tough opponents.” 

Fate seemed to be on  Yancey’s side during the final round of “Double Jeopardy!” when he correctly answered a historic currency question. 

“To be a historian and I saw the final category come up as a historical currency question, I was like, ‘phew must be livin’ right,’” he said in his southern drawl. 

The Rider asked Yancey how his family reacted to his victory,  compared to the last time he competed and received grief for not correctly answering a question on the popular fantasy novel series, “Percy Jackson.”

“My sister was out there with me for this tournament, and when I came off the stage, after that game against Paul and Jen, she looked at me and said, ‘Well, you got lucky, didn’t you?’” he said. 

Yancey added that in his family if you’re teased it’s because you’re loved. 

“I think one of my cousins posted something on Facebook about, ‘Well, he wins again. He’s a nerd’, you know? We just pick at each other,” he said. 

Yancey said that in addition to history being his favorite category, he does well with Biblical and literature questions as well, but admits that pop culture is his achilles heel adding that if it happened after 2000 he’s not interested. 

“When I got invited to [“Jeopardy!”] Second Chance, I thought, well, maybe I’ll try to study pop culture and my niece suggested I listen to some Taylor Swift,” he said. “ I got about halfway through a song and went ‘I can’t do it,’ I’m too old, too much of a, you know, guitar nerd for that.” 

Yancey shared his connection with the popular game show extending back to his youth as a student competing in Quiz Bowls, but on a deeper level he said  “Jeopardy!” kept him connected to his late grandmother.

“I started watching ‘Jeopardy!’ with my grandmother when I was 13 years old, and she liked to watch it and see how many questions I could get right,” he said.

“… I originally started doing that because if I did’’t watch ‘Jeopardy!’ with her, I had to go back out and work in the fields with my grandfather. So watching ‘Jeopardy!’ got me 30 extra minutes in the air conditioning.”

The Rider asked Yancey what it meant for him to be a part of “Jeopardy!” 

“It means a lot,” he said. “ … I thought a lot about my grandmother while I’ve gone through this, she’s been gone since 2006, but if it weren’t for her, none of this would happen.”

The history lecturer shared that his most memorable experience on the game show was during the second day of the two-game final on “Jeopardy! Second Chance,” when he had the opportunity to thank his wife who was sitting in the audience.

“She’s everything to me,” he said. “I can’t imagine my life without her. … She was way more stressed about [the game] than I was, but I think the fact that they got to acknowledge her, and they got to show her on national TV [meant a lot] because we’re a team.” 

Yancey walked onto an iconic stage with a long Hollywood history and stepped off it now part of that history, becoming somewhat of a local celebrity in the Rio Grande Valley. 

“I’ve only lived down here about eight years,” he said. “… [But] I knew I had made it with people when [UTRGV]  shared one of my wins, and in the comments section, somebody commented, ‘puro Vaquero.’”For program scheduling and where to watch the “Jeopardy!” Champion Wildcard tournament visit https://www.jeopardy.com/.