Senior wins American Eagle Comedy Challenge

KINGSTON, R.I. — March 23, 2007 — One University of Rhode Island senior, Billy Horrigan, has now been dubbed the “King of Comedy” on campus by winning the American Eagle Campus Comedy Challenge.

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., announced Horrigan as the winner of its search for the funniest college student in America, ending the company’s 12-campus search that began in February.

After winning first place during URI’s comedy finals round held at Edwards Auditorium on March 5, a video of Horrigan’s performance was posted on American Eagle’s website where it received the top votes from thousands of online viewers. As a result, American Eagle Outfitters flew Horrigan to Cancun to perform in front of an audience of thousands of students on spring break on March 21.

“This is so exciting, I don’t know how it happened,” Horrigan, said to the American Eagle reporters at the finals competition. “Following professional comedian Baron Vaughn was no easy task as I was really impressed with him. It was nerve-wracking waiting backstage but when I got out there I just did it and think it went well. I’m really thrilled about the opportunity.”

American Eagle Campus Comedy Challenge host and professional standup comedian Jasper Redd said, “Billy seemed like a natural, he was so poised and confident for someone who didn’t have much experience on stage. The competition was tough at Rhode Island as all four performers were funny. It’s a great accomplishment for Billy and I hope this experience helps him to continue pursuing a career in standup comedy.”

The Campus Comedy Challenge was developed and produced in partnership with Generate, the first production and talent management company established by media leaders to create content across multiple platforms. The search began February 9, at University of Minnesota and ended March 15 at Virginia Tech & State University, with stops in Wisconsin, Virginia, Ohio, Washington, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland and Rhode Island along the way. Professional comedians including Bryan Callen, Sheng Wang, Baron Vaughn and Bobby Miyamoto were featured on the tour.

Each of the schools who participated held individual competitions before the American Eagle events to select the three finalists to perform and compete on stage in Cancun.

To view a clip of Horrigan’s performance, visit http://www.aecomedy.com.

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Pictured above:

KING OF CAMPUS COMEDY: Billy Horrigan performing during Comedy Challenge Finals at Edwards Auditorium. URI News Bureau photo, Joe Giblin