Ole Miss faces off against Mississippi State in a pre-Egg Bowl matchup on a College Rivalry episode of “The Price Is Right.” The episode, airing Wednesday, pits college rivals against each other in the show’s classic games.
William Ault, Eli Allen, Clara Agnes Ault, Zack Davis, Brooke Meitzler and Christina Figg are all Ole Miss alumni living in San Francisco. They heard about the casting call from Phil Richardson, the San Francisco Bay Area alumni director.
“Our friend group commented on the post to reserve a spot, and then, bam — we went off to Beverly Hills,” Meitzler said.
Members of the group said they had been “The Price is Right” fans since they were children.
“I’ve been a fan of ‘The Price is Right’ since I was in elementary school,” Allen said. “My favorite part about missing school when I was younger was knowing that I would be able to catch the show when it aired every day at 10 a.m.”
Though Meitzler was the only Ole Miss contestant who actually got to compete on the show, the rest of her group all participated in casting interviews.
“From taking headshots to being individually interviewed, you had to be on your A-game the entire time,” she said.
Meitzler said she thought infusing her personality into her interview helped her chances.
“I brought my tap shoes for the showing, and I did a little tap dance during the interviewing panel, and I really think that hooked the crew,” she said. “Also, the main interviewer, Stan, asked if I knew Clara Agnes, who was standing next to me in line, and I said, “Well, duh. She’s my best friend from college, and I date her cousin.’ If that didn’t scream Mississippi to him, then I don’t know what else would.”
Even though she didn’t know if she would get a chance to play, Meitzler said she wanted to prepare for the games.
“I found a cheat sheet online for all of the games that are played on the show, so I was ready for any game that came my way,” she said.
One of the highlights of Meitzler’s experience was getting to give a few special shoutouts while spinning the wheel.
“I gave a little shout out to Chancellor Vitter and Ross Bjork, hoping that, one day, I can be the crazy tap dancer from ‘The Price is Right’ asking Vaught-Hemingway, ‘Are you ready?’” she said.
Attendees said being in the audience was a high-energy experience.
“Even though we were a small group, Ole Miss was one of the loudest, most energetic bunches that attended the college rivalry episode,” Figg said.
Allen said he was surprised at how difficult it was to tell what was happening while he was in the audience.
“Games that seem simple on TV were much harder in person because of the noise, excitement and the fast pace at which the show moves,” he said.
Due to legality issues, contestants can’t reveal what happens on the show, but both Meitzler and Allen encourage Rebel fans to tune in.
“I think Ole Miss fans will be proud of how our California cohort represented our university,” Allen said.
