UF senior Calvin Cole wins top honor in comedy contest

July 19, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida senior Calvin Cole won the crowning title of “America’s Funniest College Student” following his performance at the June 15-19 “TBS presents a ‘Very Funny’ Festival: Just for Laughs” in Chicago.

The festival is considered one of the world’s largest and most prestigious, featuring comedians such as Ellen DeGeneres, Denis Leary and Aziz Ansari. The competition kicked off in January with an on-campus talent search at 32 universities across the country. Comedy teams then battled their way through a series of live events and online elimination rounds in tournament-style matches.

Four teams — Emerson College, the University of Florida, Loyola Marymount University and Xavier University — progressed to the national semi-finals, hosted at the Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival in Colorado June 10-13. Live audiences and online viewers watched each student performance and voted for their favorite MVPs and comedy teams. Cole and his fellow UF students Brian Amos, Tim Keck and Rudy Mendoza won the title of “Funniest Comedy Team in America” at the finals in Aspen.

Following the competition in Aspen, the four chosen MVPs advanced to a final performance round in Chicago in June. Performances were filmed and hosted on tbs.com for public viewing and voting. Majority votes elected Cole as “America’s Funniest College Student.”

“I want to thank Rooftop and TBS; I’ve had a blast throughout the entire competition, and my only regret is that I can’t do it again next year,” said Cole upon hearing news of his win. “The other schools brought some real talent to the table, and I wouldn’t be on the winning team or have this awesome title without the unflagging efforts of my teammates, Rudy Mendoza, Tim Keck and Brian Amos or the massive support base we have in our families and friends.”