Ken Jennings Opens Up About His Famous College Roommate

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Ken Jennings Opens Up About His Famous College Roommate

Originally posted on TV Insider | Last updated Jun 1, 2026 2:42 PM ET

Who knew that Brigham Young University would produce two superstar students? Ken Jennings attended the Utah college with a famous author and the Jeopardy! host opened up about their friendship.

Jennings attended college with Brandon Sanderson from 1996 to 2000 after transferring from the University of Washington and a two-year Mormon mission in Spain, according to his website. Jennings and Sanderson both majored in English and roomed together. During that time, Sanderson was the editor of the school magazine, according to his website.

While Jennings took a different route for his career, Sanderson never stopped writing. He is the author of the Cosmeere books, which are being adapted for the screen. The Hollywood Reporter shares that his Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive series are being turned into TV shows. The fantasy series will air exclusively on Apple TV.

During a fan Q&A on the set of Jeopardy!, Jennings talked about his college roommate and how Sanderson might be the more successful of the pair. Jennings famously went on a 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy!, cementing himself as the greatest player of all time, and now hosts the game show.

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A fan asked, since Sanderson got the TV deal, could Jennings make an appearance on any of the shows. The host laughed and then explained to other members of the audience who his roommate was.

“My college roommate is a fantasy author. If you know that world, he is actually one of the biggest names in epic fantasy — Brandon Sanderson,” he said. To that, an audience member said, “Whoa!” Jennings joked that fans weren’t that into him, but more into Sanderson.

“At the time, Brandon was just working at the Best Western near our house. He was the night-shift desk clerk, which I guess leaves you lots of time to write 1200-page novels with 78 characters in them, ” Jennings said.

“He would come home from work every morning, and if I was making breakfast, he would just be standing in the kitchen reading us the next events of King, whatever Sir, whoever killing whatever dragon.”

“I was like, ‘Well, at least I’m not the nerdiest guy in the apartment for a change. That was very nice,” Jennings joked.

The host went on to say that Sanderson lives south of Salt Lake City, Utah, and has his own plane. “Brandon doesn’t fly commercial anymore. That’s how many books he’s sold,” he said.

“So, I’m also the second most successful person in the apartment.”

Fans in the comments were shocked and said that it is the “biggest lore” drop about Jennings. Did you know the two men were roommates? Let us know in the comments.

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock

Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive series, TBD, Apple TV

This article first appeared on TV Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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