Team Ninja Warrior: College Madness was a college-themed edition of Team Ninja Warrior, in which 16 teams of three, each representing a top U.S. university/college, would race against each other to settle college rivalries, as well as to display the next generation of American Ninja Warrior competitors.
The competition was produced by and aired at Esquire Network, and premiered on November 22nd, 2016. For this competition, Matt Iseman served as the host, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila served as the co-host, and Kacy Catanzaro served as the sideline reporter.
In general, there were 3 rounds used in each episode of Team Ninja Warrior: College Madness:
Round One
There were 2 matchups, with 2 teams in each matchup.
Each matchup consisted of 3 heats, where 2 competitors (one competitor from each team) would race side-by-side on a series of obstacles.
The running order for each heat was decided by the captains of each team, with female competitors were required to face each other in the same heat.
In each heat, the competitor who completed the course (or made the furthest, in case of no competitor could complete the course) in the fastest time would receive points for his/her respective team: 1 point in the first two heats and 2 points in the third heat (also known as the anchor run).
The team who cumulated the most points would win the matchup and face the losing team from another matchup in Round Two (Knockout Round).
If there was a tie, a sudden death race was held to decide the winner, with each team must select one of their member to run the course. The competitor who won the sudden death race would win the matchup for his/her respective team.
Round Two (Knockout Round)
The competition worked the same as in Round One, with the team who won the first matchup in Round One would face the team who lost the second matchup in Round One, and vice versa.
This time, the 2 teams who cumulated the most points in each matchup would win the matchup and advance to Relay Showdown, while the 2 losing teams would be eliminated from the competition.
Relay Showdown
The two winning teams from Round Two (Knockout Round) would face each other in a relay run on an extended course.
Each competitor from each team must run on the course, and each competitor will face three obstacles each. The order of the competitors is the choice of the captains.
If a competitor failed on any obstacle, his/her respective team would receive a five-second penalty to the next competitor, starting the moment the opposing competitor was tagged (except at the third competitor, in which if he/she failed on any obstacle, his/her team's run would automatically over).
If there was one competitor from each team who failed on the same obstacle, the next competitor from each team would automatically run the obstacle (with a five-second countdown at the start).
The team who won the Relay Showdown would advance to the finals, while the losing team would be eliminated from the competition.
The competition run for a total of 5 episodes, with the first 4 episodes being served as the qualifying round and the fifth and final episode being served as the finals (called as College Championship). The 4 winning teams from each qualifying round episode would compete in the finals, with the 2 winning teams from the finals' Round Two (Knockout Round) would advance to Relay Showdown, with the winning team would be the champion of Team Ninja Warrior: College Madness.
Also, unlike on American Ninja Warrior, competitors were allowed to touch the water on Team Ninja Warrior, as long as competitors didn't lose the grip on the obstacle entirely.
① Houston Cougars
② TCU Horned Frogs
③ Georgia Bulldogs
④ Florida Gators
Round One[]
Heat
Team
Name
Winning Team
Notes
Score (Team 1 - Team 2)
Matchup 1: Houston Cougars vs. TCU Horned Frogs
1
Houston Cougars
Zach Tamayo
Houston Cougars
1 - 0
TCU Horned Frogs
Alexander Parris
2
Houston Cougars
Haley Houston
TCU Horned Frogs
1 - 1
TCU Horned Frogs
Emma Beserra
3 (Anchor Run)
Houston Cougars
Mathis Owhadi
Houston Cougars
3 - 1
TCU Horned Frogs
Nolan Smith
Winner of Round One's Matchup 1: Houston Cougars
Matchup 2: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Florida Gators
1
Georgia Bulldogs
Bradley Schleicher
Georgia Bulldogs
Dane stepped off the course at the Swing Jump. Bradley fell at the Pole Grasper, but this happened afterwards.
1 - 0
Florida Gators
Dane Brooks
2
Georgia Bulldogs
Victoria Case
Florida Gators
Victoria fell at the Pole Grasper.
1 - 1
Florida Gators
Melissa Hill
3 (Anchor Run)
Georgia Bulldogs
Doug Legg
Georgia Bulldogs
Garrison fell at the Ring of Fire. Doug passed him up afterwards.
3 - 1
Florida Gators
Garrison Kalvin
Winner of Round One's Matchup 2: Georgia Bulldogs
Round Two (Knockout Round)[]
Heat
Team
Name
Winning Team
Notes
Score (Team 1 - Team 2)
Matchup 1: Houston Cougars vs. Florida Gators
1
Houston Cougars
Zach Tamayo
Houston Cougars
1 - 0
Florida Gators
Dane Brooks
2
Houston Cougars
Haley Houston
Houston Cougars
2 - 0
Florida Gators
Melissa Hill
3 (Anchor Run)
Houston Cougars
Mathis Owhadi
Houston Cougars
4 - 0
Florida Gators
Garrison Kalvin
Advanced to Relay Showdown from Matchup 1: Houston Cougars
Matchup 2: Georgia Bulldogs vs. TCU Horned Frogs
1
Georgia Bulldogs
Victoria Case
TCU Horned Frogs
Digest. Victoria fell at the Sonic Swing.
0 - 1
TCU Horned Frogs
Emma Beserra
2
Georgia Bulldogs
Bradley Schleicher
TCU Horned Frogs
0 - 2
TCU Horned Frogs
Alexander Parris
3 (Anchor Run)
Georgia Bulldogs
Doug Legg
Georgia Bulldogs
2 - 2
TCU Horned Frogs
Nolan Smith
4 (Sudden Death)
Georgia Bulldogs
Doug Legg
Georgia Bulldogs
3 - 2
TCU Horned Frogs
Alexander Parris
Advanced to Relay Showdown from Matchup 2: Georgia Bulldogs
Relay Showdown[]
Team
Obstacle 1-3 Competitor
Obstacle 4-6 Competitor
Obstacle 7-9 Competitor
Winning Team
Notes
Houston Cougars
Haley Houston
Mathis Owhadi
Zach Tamayo
Georgia Bulldogs
Zach fell at the Duelling Salmon Ladders. Doug passed him up afterwards.
Georgia Bulldogs
Victoria Case
Bradley Schleicher
Doug Legg
Advanced to College Championship: Georgia Bulldogs
Episode 2 (Qualifying Round)[]
Team[]
① Texas A&M Aggies
② Oklahoma Sooners
③ UCONN Huskies
④ MIT Engineers
Round One[]
Heat
Team
Name
Winning Team
Notes
Score (Team 1 - Team 2)
Matchup 1: Texas A&M Aggies vs. Oklahoma Sooners
1
Texas A&M Aggies
Collin Hummel
Oklahoma Sooners
Both of them fell at the Pole Grasper. However, Reese reached the obstacle first.
0 - 1
Oklahoma Sooners
Reese Tomberline
2
Texas A&M Aggies
Kaiti Haymaker
Texas A&M Aggies
Candace fell at the Sonic Swing.
1 - 1
Oklahoma Sooners
Candace Caldwell
3 (Anchor Run)
Texas A&M Aggies
Will Smithee
Texas A&M Aggies
Taylor fell at the Pole Grasper.
3 - 1
Oklahoma Sooners
Taylor Neitsch
Winner of Round One's Matchup 1: Texas A&M Aggies
Matchup 2: UCONN Huskies vs. MIT Engineers
1
UCONN Huskies
Luke Adams
MIT Engineers
0 - 1
MIT Engineers
Charlie Andrews
2
UCONN Huskies
Jade Sharkany
MIT Engineers
0 - 2
MIT Engineers
Amelia Becker
3 (Anchor Run)
UCONN Huskies
Perry Madison
MIT Engineers
0 - 4
MIT Engineers
Tomas Cabrera
Winner of Round One's Matchup 2: MIT Engineers
Round Two (Knockout Round)[]
Heat
Team
Name
Winning Team
Notes
Score (Team 1 - Team 2)
Matchup 1: Texas A&M Aggies vs. UCONN Huskies
1
Texas A&M Aggies
Collin Hummel
UCONN Huskies
Collin fell at the Pole Grasper.
0 - 1
UCONN Huskies
Luke Adams
2
Texas A&M Aggies
Kaiti Haymaker
UCONN Huskies
Kaiti fell at the Swing Jump. Jade passed her up afterwards.
0 - 2
UCONN Huskies
Jade Sharkany
3 (Anchor Run)
Texas A&M Aggies
Will Smithee
Texas A&M Aggies
2 - 2
UCONN Huskies
Perry Madison
4 (Sudden Death)
Texas A&M Aggies
Will Smithee
Texas A&M Aggies
3 - 2
UCONN Huskies
Luke Adams
Advanced to Relay Showdown from Matchup 1: Texas A&M Aggies
Matchup 2: MIT Engineers vs. Oklahoma Sooners
1
MIT Engineers
Chalie Andrews
MIT Engineers
Reese fell at the Ring of Fire.
1 - 0
Oklahoma Sooners
Reese Tomberlin
2
MIT Engineers
Amelia Becker
MIT Engineers
Digest. Candace fell at the Ring of Fire.
2 - 0
Oklahoma Sooners
Candace Caldwell
3 (Anchor Run)
MIT Engineers
Tomas Cabrera
MIT Engineers
Taylor fell at the Swing Jump.
4 - 0
Oklahoma Sooners
Taylor Neitsch
Advanced to Relay Showdown from Matchup 2: MIT Engineers
Relay Showdown[]
Team
Obstacle 1-3 Competitor
Obstacle 4-6 Competitor
Obstacle 7-9 Competitor
Winning Team
Notes
Texas A&M Aggies
Collin Hummel
Kaiti Haymaker
Will Smithee
MIT Enginners
Collin fell at the Ring of Fire, resulting in a 5-second penalty for Kaiti.
MIT Engineers
Tomas Cabrera
Amelia Becker
Charlie Andrews
Advanced to College Championship: MIT Engineers
Episode 3 (Qualifying Round)[]
Team[]
① UCLA Bruins
② USC Trojans
③ Stanford Cardinal
④ Colorado Buffaloes
Round One[]
Heat
Team
Name
Winning Team
Notes
Score (Team 1 - Team 2)
Matchup 1: UCLA Bruins vs. USC Trojans
1
UCLA Bruins
Carter Allen
UCLA Bruins
1 - 0
USC Trojans
Julian Olea
2
UCLA Bruins
Amanda Adams
UCLA Bruins
Noelle fell at the Swing Jump. Amanda passed her up afterwards.
2 - 0
USC Trojans
Noelle Crowley
3 (Anchor Run)
UCLA Bruins
James Vaughan
UCLA Bruins
4 - 0
USC Trojans
Antonio Ayala
Winner of Round One's Matchup 1: UCLA Bruins
Matchup 2: Stanford Cardinal vs. Colorado Buffaloes
1
Stanford Cardinal
Will Roderick
Stanford Cardinal
Matt fell at the Sonic Swing.
1 - 0
Colorado Buffaloes
Matt Normile
2
Stanford Cardinal
Roshena MacPherson
Colorado Buffaloes
Roshena fell at the Ring of Fire.
1 - 1
Colorado Buffaloes
Alexandra Regenold
3 (Anchor Run)
Stanford Cardinal
Nam Cuong
Stanford Cardinal
3 - 1
Colorado Buffaloes
Bobby Reedy
Winner of Round One's Matchup 2: Stanford Cardinal
Round Two (Knockout Round)[]
Heat
Team
Name
Winning Team
Notes
Score (Team 1 - Team 2)
Matchup 1: UCLA Bruins vs. Colorado Buffaloes
1
UCLA Bruins
Carter Allen
UCLA Bruins
1 - 0
Colorado Buffaloes
Matt Normile
2
UCLA Bruins
Amanda Adams
Colorado Buffaloes
Both of them failed at the Warped Wall after 3 attempts. However, Alexandra reached the obstacle first.
1 - 1
Colorado Buffaloes
Alexandra Regenold
3 (Anchor Run)
UCLA Bruins
James Vaughan
UCLA Bruins
3 - 1
Colorado Buffaloes
Bobby Reedy
Advanced to Relay Showdown from Matchup 1: UCLA Bruins
Matchup 2: Stanford Cardinal vs. USC Trojans
1
Stanford Cardinal
Will Roderick
USC Trojans
0 - 1
USC Trojans
Julian Olea
2
Stanford Cardinal
Roshena MacPherson
USC Trojans
Roshena fell at the Sonic Swing.
0 - 2
USC Trojans
Noelle Crowley
3 (Anchor Run)
Stanford Cardinal
Nam Cuong
Stanford Cardinal
Antonio fell at the Sonic Swing.
2 - 2
USC Trojans
Antonio Ayala
4 (Sudden Death)
Stanford Cardinal
Nam Cuong
USC Trojans
2 - 3
USC Trojans
Julian Olea
Advanced to Relay Showdown from Matchup 2: USC Trojans
Relay Showdown[]
Team
Obstacle 1-3 Competitor
Obstacle 4-6 Competitor
Obstacle 7-9 Competitor
Winning Team
Notes
UCLA Bruins
Amanda Adams
Carter Allen
James Vaughan
UCLA Bruins
Julian fell at the Duelling Salmon Ladders.
USC Trojans
Noelle Crowley
Antonio Ayala
Julian Olea
Advanced to College Championship: UCLA Bruins
Episode 4 (Qualifying Round)[]
Team[]
① Ohio State Buckeyes
② Michigan Wolverines
③ Wisconsin Badgers
④ Maryland Terrapins
Round One[]
Heat
Team
Name
Winning Team
Notes
Score (Team 1 - Team 2)
Matchup 1: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines
1
Ohio State Buckeyes
Clay Raterman
Ohio State Buckeyes
1 - 0
Michigan Wolverines
Joseph Craig
2
Ohio State Buckeyes
Brynn Schlemitz
Michigan Wolverines
Brynn fell at the Swing Jump.
1 - 1
Michigan Wolverines
Liv Lang
3 (Anchor Run)
Ohio State Buckeyes
CJ Raterman
Ohio State Buckeyes
3 - 1
Michigan Wolverines
Karl Berkemeier
Winner of Round One's Matchup 1: Ohio State Buckeyes
Matchup 2: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Maryland Terrapins
1
Wisconsin Badgers
Andrew Philibeck
Wisconsin Badgers
1 - 0
Maryland Terrapins
Kevin Merrick
2
Wisconsin Badgers
Taylor Amann
Wisconsin Badgers
2 - 0
Maryland Terrapins
Delaney Jordan
3 (Anchor Run)
Wisconsin Badgers
Zack Kemmerer
Wisconsin Badgers
4 - 0
Maryland Terrapins
Marcos Colon-Pappaterra
Winner of Round One's Matchup 2: Wisconsin Badgers
Round Two (Knockout Round)[]
Heat
Team
Name
Winning Team
Notes
Score (Team 1 - Team 2)
Matchup 1: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Maryland Terrapins
1
Ohio State Buckeyes
Clay Raterman
Maryland Terrapins
Both of them hit the buzzer at almost the same time. However, Kevin was determined as the winner after an instant replay and beating Clay by 0.11 seconds.
0 - 1
Maryland Terrapins
Kevin Merrick
2
Ohio State Buckeyes
Brynn Sclemitz
Maryland Terrapins
Brynn fell at the Sonic Swing.
0 - 2
Maryland Terrapins
Delaney Jordan
3 (Anchor Run)
Ohio State Buckeyes
CJ Raterman
Ohio State Buckeyes
2 - 2
Maryland Terrapins
Marcos Colon-Pappaterra
4 (Sudden Death)
Ohio State Buckeyes
CJ Raterman
Maryland Terrapins
2 - 3
Maryland Terrapins
Marcos Colon-Pappaterra
Advanced to Relay Showdown from Matchup 1: Maryland Terrapins
Matchup 2: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Michigan Wolverines
1
Wisconsin Badgers
Andrew Philibeck
Wisconsin Badgers
1 - 0
Michigan Wolverines
Joseph Craig
2
Wisconsin Badgers
Taylor Amann
Wisconsin Badgers
Liv fell at the Sonic Swing.
2 - 0
Michigan Wolverines
Liv Lang
3 (Anchor Run)
Wisconsin Badgers
Zack Kemmerer
Wisconsin Badgers
4 - 0
Michigan Wolverines
Karl Berkemeier
Advanced to Relay Showdown from Matchup 2: Wisconsin Badgers
Relay Showdown[]
Team
Obstacle 1-3 Competitor
Obstacle 4-6 Competitor
Obstacle 7-9 Competitor
Winning Team
Notes
Maryland Terrapins
Delaney Jordan
Kevin Merrick
Marcos Colon-Pappaterra
Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers
Taylor Amann
Andrew Philibeck
Zack Kemmerer
Advanced to College Championship: Wisconsin Badgers
Episode 5 (College Championship)[]
Team[]
① Georgia Bulldogs (Episode 1's winning team during Relay Showdown)
② MIT Engineers (Episode 2's winning team during Relay Showdown)
③ UCLA Bruins (Episode 3's winning team during Relay Showdown)
④ Wisconsin Badgers (Episode 4's winning team during Relay Showdown)
Round One[]
Heat
Team
Name
Winning Team
Notes
Score (Team 1 - Team 2)
Matchup 1: Georgia Bulldogs vs. MIT Engineers
1
Georgia Bulldogs
Bradley Schleicher
MIT Engineers
0 - 1
MIT Engineers
Charlie Andrews
2
Georgia Bulldogs
Victoria Case
MIT Engineers
Victoria fell at the Floating Tiles.
0 - 2
MIT Engineers
Amelia Becker
3 (Anchor Run)
Georgia Bulldogs
Doug Legg
MIT Engineers
0 - 4
MIT Engineers
Tomas Cabrera
Winner of Round One's Matchup 1: MIT Engineers
Matchup 2: UCLA Bruins vs. Wisconsin Badgers
1
UCLA Bruins
James Vaughan
Wisconsin Badgers
0 - 1
Wisconsin Badgers
Andrew Philibeck
2
UCLA Bruins
Amanda Adams
Wisconsin Badgers
0 - 2
Wisconsin Badgers
Taylor Amann
3 (Anchor Run)
UCLA Bruins
Carter Allen
Wisconsin Badgers
Carter fell at the Swing Jump.
0 - 4
Wisconsin Badgers
Zack Kemmerer
Winner of Round One's Matchup 2: Wisconsin Badgers
Round Two (Knockout Round)[]
Heat
Team
Name
Winning Team
Notes
Score (Team 1 - Team 2)
Matchup 1: MIT Engineers vs. UCLA Bruins
1
MIT Engineers
Charlie Andrews
UCLA Bruins
Both of them hit the buzzer at almost the same time. However, James was determined as the winner after an instant replay and beating Charlie by 0.01 seconds.
0 - 1
UCLA Bruins
James Vaughan
2
MIT Engineers
Amelia Becker
MIT Engineers
Amanda fell at the Spin Cycle.
1 - 1
UCLA Bruins
Amanda Adams
3 (Anchor Run)
MIT Engineers
Tomas Cabrera
MIT Engineers
3 - 1
UCLA Bruins
Carter Allen
Advanced to Relay Showdown from Matchup 1: MIT Engineers
Matchup 2: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Georgia Bulldogs
1
Wisconsin Badgers
Andrew Philibeck
Wisconsin Badgers
1 - 0
Georgia Bulldogs
Bradley Schleicher
2
Wisconsin Badgers
Taylor Amann
Wisconsin Badgers
2 - 0
Georgia Bulldogs
Victoria Case
3 (Anchor Run)
Wisconsin Badgers
Zack Kemmerer
Wisconsin Badgers
Zack beat Doug to the buzzer by 0.09 seconds.
4 - 0
Georgia Bulldogs
Doug Legg
Advanced to Relay Showdown from Matchup 2: WIsconsin Badgers
Relay Showdown[]
Team
Obstacle 1-3 Competitor
Obstacle 4-6 Competitor
Obstacle 7-9 Competitor
Winning Team
Notes
MIT Engineers
Tomas Cabrera
Amelia Becker
Chalie Andrews
Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers
Taylor Amann
Andrew Philibeck
Zack Kemmerer
Team Ninja Warrior: College Madness champion: Wisconsin Badgers