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The University of Wisconsin is gearing up for the taping of the “Jeopardy! College Championship,” a two-day event starting today that will highlight some of America’s brightest college students and put Wisconsin on the national stage.

The taping of the tournament, which will take place today and Saturday in the Kohl Center, will feature 15 students from colleges across the country.

On Thursday, Gov. Jim Doyle met with “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek as well as the contestants from Wisconsin on the set of the tournament at the Kohl Center.

Doyle said he hopes the national audience drawn by this tournament will shine a positive light on the university and the state.

“This will be great exposure for the school,” Doyle said. “It helps students around the country who are thinking about where they might want to go to school. It’s helpful for that.”

Doyle did not say whether he would use the national stage to promote Wisconsin to the rest of the country, but said he may have a small part in the taping of the tournament.

Doyle declared April 11 and 12 “Jeopardy! Days” in the state of Wisconsin in honor of the championship and encouraged Wisconsin citizens to acknowledge the great cultural contributions “Jeopardy!” has made over the years.

Harry Friedman, executive producer of “Jeopardy!,” said the decision to host the show in Madison was a no-brainer.

“Wisconsin is such a great institution,” Friedman said, “We took one look around and said, ‘Yup, this is where we want to shoot.”‘

Friedman, whose wife is originally from Wisconsin, called UW-Madison a “classic school” with a great athletic and academic reputation. Friedman extended his praise to the city and residents of Madison.

“Our experience here has been outstanding,” he said. “People have been so helpful and so kind; this is probably one of the best venues we’ve ever worked in.”

The contestants competing in the tournament include a student from UW and a student from Marquette University, as well as a Harvard University student whose mother is a UW alumna.

Suchita Shah, the sole UW representative in the championship, said her appearance on “Jeopardy!” would fulfill a long-held desire to appear on the show.

“It’s always been one of my life goals to be on ‘Jeopardy!,'” Shah said. “When I realized it was taping in Madison, I said ‘Yeah, I’ll give it a chance.'”

Shah, a senior majoring in microbiology and a columnist at The Badger Herald, praised her fellow contestants, calling them “wonderful,” and remains cautious of the level of opposition she faced.

“The competition will be intense,” she said. “These people are intelligent and at the top of their game.”

The “Jeopardy! College Tournament” has a grand prize of $100,000, though smaller prizes are available for the runners-up.