In this screen grab from television, Slippery Rock University was a clue Thursday, Feb. 1, on “Jeopardy!” Submitted photo

“What are universities?”

That was the “answer in the form of a question” to a clue on “Jeopardy!” that featured Slippery Rock University during an episode that premiered on Thursday, Feb.

Under the category of “Commonalities,” contestants had to figure out what Slippery Rock, Case Western and Austin Peay had in common.

Contestant Juveria Zaheer, a psychiatrist from Ontario, Canada, was able to answer the $400 clue during the single Jeopardy! portion of the trivia game show.

Stephanie Matis, an alumni of Slippery Rock and “Jeopardy!” fan, said she caught her alma mater mentioned live Thursday night.

“Anytime I hear the name, it catches my attention,” Matis said. “So when I heard Slippery Rock and then Case Western, my head whipped toward the TV right away.”

Matis, who currently works at Case Western as a research assistant, said even though she had not heard of “Austin Peay” she was able to figure out the answer.

Current sophomore at Slippery Rock University and trivia connoisseur Hayden Fritz, of Slippery Rock, said the mention was “all the talk” during his introduction to political theory class Friday.

“It’s awesome,” Fritz said. “I always love whenever Slippery Rock is mentioned in the media.”

Justin Zackal, the interim assistant director of communication at Slippery Rock, said the university was unaware it was going to be a clue on the show.

However, he said, it’s not unusual for Slippery Rock to be mentioned in popular culture because of the peculiar name.

“It’s a source of pride for our campus community and alumni,” Zackal said. “It provides an opportunity for people to learn that, yes, this place exists, and it is home to a great university.”

Matis said seeing her alma mater used as a clue to “stump the ‘Jeopardy!’ competitors” was neat.

“I've always gotten a kick out of people's reactions when I told them where I went to college,” Matis said. “If they haven't heard of Slippery Rock before, you usually get a funny look.”

Matis and Fritz were not the only “Rocky Lions” to take pride in seeing their university mentioned on a national cable broadcast.

Zackal who said he watches the show regularly was able to screenshot the clue and post it on the University’s Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.

“The response on social media has been phenomenal,” Zackal said. “It shows people’s affinity for SRU and how much cultural currency that ‘Jeopardy!’ brings.” Zackal said.

According to Zackal, within the first 12 hours of his sharing it on the university’s Facebook account, the post reached more than 40,000 people with over 1,000 likes, comments and shares.

“That’s easily one the more viral posts we’ve had in recent months.”