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Sam Buttrey

Sam Buttrey
Born (1961-08-19) August 19, 1961 (age 64)
Rome, Italy
Alma materPhillips Exeter Academy
Occupations
  • Professor
  • podcaster
Known forMultiple appearances on Jeopardy! (2021–2024)
Spouse
Elinda Hardy
​
(m. 1994)​
Children2

Samuel Edward Buttrey (born August 19, 1961) is a podcaster,[1] and retired Associate Professor of Operations Research[2] at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School[3] in Monterey, California. He is best known for multiple appearances on the game show Jeopardy!.[1]

Early life

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Buttrey was born in Rome, Italy, on August 19, 1961, the son of Theodore V. Buttrey, Jr. and Marisa (Macina) Buttrey. He was educated at The Perse School in Cambridge, U.K., graduated from the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1979, and was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree from Princeton University in 1983. He thereafter obtained his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1996.[4]

Career

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Buttrey has about two dozen journal articles and over a hundred masters theses advised.[5][6] He has also published a book, A Data Scientist's Guide to Acquiring, Cleaning, and Managing Data in R.[7] In 2004, Buttrey was awarded the Rear Admiral John Jay Schieffelin Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Naval Postgraduate School. [citation needed]

Jeopardy!

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Buttrey’s initial appearance on Jeopardy! was during its inaugural Professor's Tournament[8] in December 2021, having been an avid fan of the show since he was 7, when he watched at his grandmother's house when Art Fleming was the host.[9] Buttrey won his initial game, won again in the semi-finals, and prevailed in a two-game final. His win earned him an automatic spot in the show's Tournament of Champions, which aired from October 31 to November 21, 2022,[10] where he progressed to the finals, which was won by Amy Schneider. Buttrey obtained a degree of social media renown for his physical resemblance to the actor Steve Martin,[11][12] as well as his jovial manner and quick-wittedness.[13] His wife, Elinda, also tried out for the show multiple times and was planning to compete on the show in Season 41 before he accepted the offer to be a co-host for the show's Inside Jeopardy! podcast.[14]

He donated a little more than half the winnings from his first appearance, when he won $100,000 as champion of the Professors Tournament, to the CSU Monterey Bay Buttrey-Hardy endowed scholarship fund.[15][16][17]

Buttrey was invited back to Jeopardy to compete in the Jeopardy! Masters competition in May 2023. He finished sixth among the six players. He won $50,000.[13]

Buttrey's final Jeopardy! appearance came in the show's inaugural Invitational Tournament, which aired from March 20 to April 9, 2024.[18] He won his quarterfinal match against Colby Burnett and Lilly Chin, but lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Victoria Groce. In September 2024, it was announced that Buttrey had been made a co-host of the show's "Inside Jeopardy!" podcast,[19] as a result of which he had retired from competition. His job as "Sambassador" includes appearances at Jeopardy!-themed events, like the Jeopardy! event at the Sporcle's SporcleCon 2024 event in Detroit.[citation needed]

Personal life

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Buttrey has married to Elinda Hardy since July 2, 1994.[20] He has two childrten.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sam Buttrey". Jeopardy.com. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  2. ^ "Faculty – Naval Postgraduate School". nps.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  3. ^ Naval Postgraduate School Foundation (November 2, 2022). "NPS' Dr. Sam Buttrey, Jeopardy! Professors Tournament on Preparing for the Tournament of Champions". Retrieved November 20, 2024 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ "Samuel Edward Buttrey". Berkeley Statistics. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  5. ^ "Researchgate".
  6. ^ "Theses – SEED Center for Data Farming – Naval Postgraduate School". nps.edu. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  7. ^ "A Data Scientist's Guide to Acquiring, Cleaning, and Managing Data in R | Wiley". Wiley.com. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  8. ^ Whitcomb-Foss, Sarah; Cohen, Buzzy (July 10, 2023). "Who is Sam Buttrey?". Inside Jeopardy! (Podcast). Retrieved November 20, 2024 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ Popeda, Agata (November 25, 2021). "The Naval Postgraduate School's Sam Buttrey is part of the Jeopardy! 2021 Professors Tournament". Monterey County Now. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  10. ^ Holmes, Martin (November 11, 2022). "6 Things to Know about 'Jeopardy!' TOC Finalist Sam Buttrey". TV Insider. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  11. ^ Ivie, Devon (November 22, 2022). "Jeopardy!'s Sam Buttrey Hopes You'll Invite Him to Your Fancy Parties". Vulture. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  12. ^ Aquilina, Tyler (December 21, 2021). "'Jeopardy' invites Steve Martin to appear on the show after doppelgänger wins tournament". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Wellen, Brianna (May 25, 2023). "Who Really Won Jeopardy! Masters?". Primetimer. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  14. ^ Whitcomb-Foss, Sarah; Buttrey, Sam (October 7, 2024). "What is Post-Jeopardy! Syndrome?". Inside Jeopardy! (Podcast). Retrieved August 19, 2025 – via Apple Podcasts.
  15. ^ California State University Monterey, Ca (October 2, 2023). "Sam Buttrey won big on 'Jeopardy!' and so did CSUMB students". csumb.edu. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  16. ^ Copitch, Josh (October 4, 2023). "Central Coast 'Jeopardy!' contestant donating winnings to local college". KSBW. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  17. ^ "Buttrey-Hardy Endowed Scholarship – California State University – Monterey Bay". csumb.academicworks.com. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  18. ^ "2024 Jeopardy Invitational Tournament".
  19. ^ Holmes, Martin (September 10, 2024). "'Jeopardy!' Fan Favorite Sam Buttrey Lands New Job With Show".
  20. ^ Hardy, Elinda (July 2, 2024). "It was 30 years ago today!". Facebook. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  21. ^ Lusk, Darian (October 8, 2024). "'Jeopardy!' Star Sam Buttrey Reveals He Cost His Wife Chance On Show". TV Insider. Retrieved August 19, 2025.