BattleFrog College Championship
BattleFrog College Championship was a sports competition television series directed by Ron Luscinski and written by Luscinski, Tom Davis, and Danny Llewelyn.
Hosted by Ron Pitts, sportscaster and former NFL cornerback, and Evan Dollard, from American Ninja Warrior and American Gladiators, BattleFrog College Championship showcases 16 co-ed rival college teams competing for a national championship and academic scholarships on the ultimate sprint track obstacle course built by Navy Seals; this single-elimination competition was a 350-meter, four-person relay with over 20 obstacles testing the competitors' strength, speed, and endurance.
The competing colleges for season one included: Syracuse, Texas A&M, Penn State, the N.C. State Triathlon Club, Army, Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Ole Miss, USC, Virginia, Wisconsin and Virginia Tech.
The three-episode series premiered on June 9, 2015, in the United States on ESPN2. Following its U.S. release, the series aired in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Latin America.
As of August 2016, BattleFrog announced that they were closing their business.
Production
Casting for 64 athletes from 16 U.S. colleges began in September 2014. Competitors were selected based on their GPA and athletic performance. Filming commenced in Spring 2015 in Orlando, Florida, at Rock on Adventures Ranch alongside the BattleFrog obstacle race series Central Florida festival. Acclaimed sportscaster Ron Pitts and two-time American Ninja Warrior finalist Evan Dollard hosted the three-day single-elimination competition with sideline reporters, Emily Reppert from Fox Sports Southwest and Shawn Ramirez, two-time crossfit winner.The series was produced by '51 Dons Film, LLC, and BattleFrog Obstacle Race series, and distributed by ESPN networks.
Season One Obstacles (2015)
| Obstacle # | Obstacle Name |
| 1 | 16' Ladder |
| 2 | 3' Hump Overs |
| 3 | 18' Cargo Crawl |
| 4 | Rolling Log |
| 5 | 6' Over/Under/Thru |
| 6 | 6' Inverted Wall |
| 7 | Balance/Carry |
| 8 | Angled Wall |
| 9 | Dirty Name |
| 10 | 12' Rope Climb |
| 11 | McMurdo Station |
| 12 | 4 Step Beams |
| 13 | Delta Ladder |
| 14 | Lily Pads |
| 15 | 12' Rope Wall |
| 16 | Log Crawl |
| 17 | Wedge Donovan |
| 18 | Monkey Bars |
| 19 | Tsunami |
| 20 | Normandy Jacks |
Season One (2015)
| School | Male Competitor 1 | Male Competitor 2 | Female Competitor 1 | Female Competitor 2 | Team Manager |
| Army | Daniel Camacho | David Ochs Jr. | Kayla Carpenter | Nicole Heavirland | Tyree Meadows |
| Alabama | John White | Taylor Wood | Shelby Akin | Monica Vermillion | Travis Taylor |
| Florida | Erik Petrick | Jacob Tyer | Katie Alt | Reilly Sullivan | Alfie Sharp |
| Illinois | David Alberts | Seth Lankford | Leya Allind | Halie Kastl | |
| Kentucky | Cameron Cristofoli | Noah Gawthrop | Morgan Collins | Madison Smith | Jordan Burgess |
| Miami | Steven De Nicola | Adam O'Reilly | Alison Scudds | Leah Vertullo | |
| Michigan | John Pavletic | Eli Zucker | Camden Burk | Cassandra Gardner | Ellen Dixon |
| Ole Miss | Joshua Brenc | Jack Coffin | Kim Duff | Emily Lewis | |
| N.C. State | Zachary Leonard | Robert Maughan | Julianna Falzon | Danielle Smith | Charlie Lambrecht |
| Penn State | Charles Ackerman | Ryan Kalkbrenner | Katharine Ferster | Haley Schlechter | Katherine Sparks |
| USC | Corey Norris | Brian Zukotynski | Marilyn Crowley | Leora Mitzner | Kayla Howard-Anderson |
| Syracuse | Frank Fuentes Jr. | Elias Hubbard | Danielle Gehman | Katherine Roskoff | Jordan Peters |
| Texas A&M | Calvin Fusilier | David Tolstyka | Rebecca Hetu | Sarah Pledger | |
| Virginia | Greg Coffin | Michael Pender | Katya Davydova | Mira Korb | |
| Wisconsin | Sterling Chapin | Matthew Koester | Kimberly Kirt | Cassandra Visintainer | Aaron Hobson |
| Virginia Tech | Blake Armstrong | Shane Wescott | Corinna Coffin | Anna Taggart | Kevin Righi |
Season One Championship (2015)
The Army team won the coveted trident cup and academic scholarships.| Seed | Team | Time |
| 1 | Army | 02:13.9 |
| 2 | Ole Miss | 02:20.4 |
Season One Stats (2015)
| Seed | Team | Time |
| 1 | Army | 02:25.2 |
| 2 | Ole Miss | 02:30.3 |
| 3 | Virginia Tech | 02:43.8 |
| 5 | Virginia | 02:59.1 |
| 7 | Alabama | 02:59.9 |
| 6 | Miami | 03:09.6 |
| 4 | Wisconsin | 04:24.8 |
| 8 | Penn State | 07:04.7 |
| Seed | Team | Time |
| 1 | Army | 02:19.0 |
| 2 | Ole Miss | 02:36.5 |
| 3 | Virginia Tech | 02:44.1 |
| 5 | Virginia | 02:45.2 |
| # | Team | Time |
| 1st | Army | 02:13.9 |
| 2nd | Ole Miss | 02:20.4 |
| 3rd | Virginia Tech | 02:42.4 |
| # | Team | Time | Race |
| 1 | Army | 02:13.9 | Final |
| 2 | Army | 02:19.0 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Ole Miss | 02:20.4 | Final |
| 4 | Army | 02:25.2 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Ole Miss | 02:30.3 | Quarterfinals |
| 6 | Ole Miss | 02:36.5 | Semifinals |
| 7 | Army | 02:40.6 | Qualifying |
| 8 | Ole Miss | 02:42.0 | Qualifying |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 02:42.4 | Third Place |
| 10 | Virginia Tech | 02:43.8 | Quarterfinals |
Reception
BattleFrog College Championship premiered episode one, First Round on ESPN2, Tuesday, June 9, 2015, in primetime to a critically receptive audience. Episodes two and three subsequently aired in primetime on June 10 and 11, 2015. Following its premiere, season one aired 9 times nationally in the U.S. on ESPN Networks and internationally in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Latin America. BattleFrog College Championship season one drew over two million viewers in the first week and garnered a strong fan-base making season two a highly anticipated program for 2016.On December 4, 2015, BattleFrog Obstacle Race Series was announced as the new title sponsor of college football's Fiesta Bowl, beginning with the January 2016 game.