Television Academy Announce Nominees for 45th College Television Awards

The Television Academy Foundation have revealed the nominees for the 45^th College Television Awards, which recognizes and rewards excellence in student-produced programs from colleges and universities nationwide, and revealed the recipients of the $10,000 Loreen Arbus Focus on Disability Award.

Open to undergraduate and graduate students, the annual College Television Awards are regarded as one of the most distinguished and high-profile steppingstones for careers in television and media.

Twenty-four student-produced programs have been nominated, selected from 186 entries representing 44 colleges nationwide. Emulating the Emmy^® Awards selection process, College Television Awards entries are judged by Television Academy members. Criteria for the awards reflect industry standards of excellence, imagination and innovation.

“The College Television Awards celebrate the extraordinary creativity and talent emerging from campuses across the country,” said Tina Perry, chair of the Television Academy Foundation. “With nominees selected by Television Academy members, these honors not only recognize excellence in student-produced content but also offer aspiring professionals invaluable exposure and connections within the Hollywood creative community and a meaningful step toward building lasting careers in entertainment.”

New for the 2026 awards program is the “Chance Perdomo Legacy Scholarship,” a $10,000 award 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, a category solely for graduate students has been added to the competition with this year’s establishment of a Scripted Series award.

Trophies and over $45,000 in cash prizes will be presented to the winning teams by television stars at the red carpet awards ceremony on March 28, 2026, in North Hollywood, California, for Animation Series; Comedy Series; Commercial, PSA or Promo; Drama Series; News; Nonfiction Series; Scripted Series; Sports; and the Loreen Arbus Focus on Disability Award.

Nominees

ANIMATION SERIES:

• Beautify – Ringling College of Art and Design
• Blooky: The Book Who Wanted to be Read – University of Southern California
• Love & Gold – Brigham Young University

COMEDY SERIES/CHANCE PERDOMO LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP:

• Dandelion – American Film Institute
• Rex – Florida State University
• Thanksgiving – Brigham Young University

COMMERCIAL, PSA OR PROMO:

• Gap: Wear With Care – Brigham Young University
• Ink Up. Wash Out. – Brigham Young University
• Never Leave Home – Brigham Young University

DRAMA SERIES:

• Halfway – Biola University
• Óménàlà – Savannah College of Art and Design (Atlanta)
• Song of Silence – American Film Institute

NEWS:

• FOCUS: Our Mental Health – Montclair State University
• NewsVision (March 6, 2025) – University of Miami
• San Francisco: On the Edge – Montclair State University

NONFICTION SERIES:

• Cornellskop: Freedom From Fear – Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah)
• Strangers on Our Land – University of California, Berkeley
• Unbroken Spirits – New York University

SCRIPTED SERIES:

• ¡Que Suene La Banda! – University of California, Los Angeles
• Patakha – American Film Institute
• Trife – University of Southern California

SPORTS:

• Cronkite Sports Live – Season 22 Finale – Arizona State University
• SportsDesk – University of Miami
• SportsDesk | The Magazine Edition | 2024 – University of Miami

For the complete list of student nominees, visit TelevisionAcademy.com/cta/nominees.

Winners will be announced by celebrity presenters at the awards ceremony Saturday, March 28, 2026, at the Television Academy’s North Hollywood campus. 

SEE ALSO: Television Academy Foundation Announce Hollywood Summer Internships