The Chance Perdomo Legacy Award Created for 45th College Television Awards

The Television Academy Foundation has announced the opening of the submission period for the 45^th College Television Awards.

The spring 2026 ceremony will recognize and reward excellence in student-produced storytelling from colleges and universities nationwide, along with two significant additions to the program. 

“For 45 years, the College Television Awards has been a career launching pad for emerging storytellers and content creators. Widely regarded as the most prestigious honor a media arts student can receive in the U.S., it continues to spotlight the next generation of talent,” said Tina Perry, chair of the Television Academy Foundation. “We’re proud to offer this one-of-a-kind opportunity that celebrates talented media-arts students and helps provide access to the entertainment industry. We encourage students nationwide to submit their work for consideration.”

New for the 2026 awards program will be the “The Chance Perdomo Legacy Scholarship,” a $10,000 scholarship awarded to the winning college team in the Comedy Series category. Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios created the scholarship as a tribute to the late Gen V actor Chance Perdomo who passed away in a motorcycle accident in 2024.

In addition, the Foundation has also introduced a new Scripted Series category solely for graduate students, spotlighting creators whose specific screen credits are producer, writer and director and whose functions support those credits.

Emulating the Emmy^® Awards selection process, College Television Awards entries are judged by Television Academy members. Awards and over $40,000 in cash prizes will be presented by television stars at a red carpet ceremony in Hollywood to winning teams in nine categories: Animation Series; Comedy Series (for undergraduate students); Commercial, PSA or Promo; Drama Series (for undergraduate students); News; Nonfiction Series; Scripted Series (for graduate students); Sports; and the Loreen Arbus Focus on Disability Award.

Criteria for the awards reflect industry standards of excellence, imagination and innovation across categories. Nominations will be announced Nov. 19, 2025.

Prominent College Television Awards alumni include CNN national correspondent Natasha Chen; Shrek 5 director Brad Ableson; Escape at Dannemora executive producer Brett Johnson; Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado director Alberto Belli; 60 Minutes producer Shachar Bar-On; Maya and the Three executive producer Jorge R. Gutierrez; Outlander orchestrator Benjamin Hoff; and CBS Mornings producer Catherine Cannon.

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