University Challenge results, 1998

These are the results of the series which began on 10 September 1997 and concluded with the final on the 21 April 1998. Consistently shown at 20:00 on BBC2, the show moved several times between Wednesday and Tuesday in the schedules. The winners of each of the twelve first-round shows progressed to the second round, as did the four highest-scoring losing teams.

First round
10/09/1997Edinburgh190180Jesus, Cambridge
17/09/1997Birkbeck, London245195Cardiff
24/09/1997Exeter175180Robinson, Cambridge
01/10/1997Magdalen, Oxford225185King's, London
08/10/1997Sheffield145265Aberdeen
15/10/1997Christ Church, Oxford155175Open
22/10/1997Liverpool130220Newnham, Cambridge
29/10/1997Queen's, Belfast30070St Bartholomew's, London
04/11/1997Magdalene, Cambridge21590St Catherine's, Oxford
11/11/1997St John's, Oxford130175LSE
18/11/1997Oxford Brookes230135Warwick
02/12/1997New Hall, Cambridge35335Nottingham
Second round
09/12/1997Exeter140275Jesus, Cambridge
16/12/1997King's, London215230Nottingham
06/01/1998Newnham, Cambridge120320Edinburgh
13/01/1998Birkbeck, London215170Robinson, Cambridge
20/01/1998LSE24540Oxford Brookes
27/01/1998Cardiff275105Aberdeen
03/02/1998Magdalene, Cambridge140155Queen's, Belfast
24/02/1998Open235265Magdalen, Oxford
Quarter-finals
04/03/1998Jesus, Cambridge220250Nottingham
11/03/1998Edinburgh205275Birkbeck, London
18/03/1998LSE225115Queen's, Belfast
25/03/1998Cardiff80375Magdalen, Oxford
Semi-finals
07/04/1998Nottingham205240Birkbeck, London
14/04/1998LSE85265Magdalen, Oxford
Final
21/04/1998Birkbeck, London195225Magdalen, Oxford
Mastermind vs University Challenge
23/12/1997Mastermind205260Magdalen, Oxford 1997
University Challenge vs College Bowl
30/12/1997UK155300USA

The 1998 champions were thus Paul O'Donnell, Phil Jones, Sarah Fitzpatrick, and Alex de Jongh, students of PPE, Physics, Modern History and English, and History respectively, and Magdalen thus became the first team to be awarded the trophy two years in succession. The trophy was presented to them by zoologist Richard Dawkins.

When asked whether he was a fan of University Challenge, Prof Dawkins stated that it is his favourite programme, and added:
I'm conducting a campaign at Oxford with my colleagues to make them abolish the A-Level as the criterion for admitting students, and substitute it with University Challenge. I'm very serious about this; the kind of mind you need to win University Challenge - it's not the knowledge that matters - but it's the retentive mind to pick things up wherever you are that you need at university too.

This year there were two special programmes. The first was between the four finallists of the final series of Mastermind this year, Clare Ockwell, Andrea Weston, Colin Cadby, and Anne Ashurst, and the 1997 champions Magdalen College, Oxford.

The second was a match between the 'four most outstanding contestants from last year's series' from University Challenge and its US equivalent College Bowl. Representing the UK were Martin Heighway (Open), Stephen Pearson (Manchester), Cormac Bakewell (Queen's, Belfast), and Colin Andress (Magdalen, Oxford). College Bowl sent Eric Tentarelli (Cornell), Robert Margolis (Texas at Dallas), John Harris (Virginia), and Mark Staloff (Harvard).

Winners are given in bold, and the four highest scoring first round losers in italics.