“I had bet a lot of money, and I was not completely sure that I had the right answer,” Smith said. “So the moment I learned I was right, well that was a very happy moment for me.”

Smith not only won "Jeopardy" once, but three consecutive times.

“It was such a whirlwind, it just all went so fast the first time that I won,” Smith said. “The second game I thought I had not bet enough to win. And the third game, I was pretty sure that I was going to win, but it was by no means a ‘Jeopardy runaway.’ I started to feel the pressure and it made me very nervous when I kept on winning.”

Being a scholar in theatre, it was very beneficial to Smith when he received the "Jeopardy" category “International Playwrights.” As could be expected, Smith excelled in such a category.

“Obviously, that was a very successful category for me,” Smith said. “I mean, that was crazy that a category about theatre came up.”

Smith said he also excelled in categories of subjects about "Seinfeld," movies and sandwiches.

Today, Smith said his students are always very excited to hear that their professor has won the popular game show of "Jeopardy" multiple times. Smith will often show his students the tapes of his episodes on the last day of class.

Theatre freshman Grant Cleaveland had Smith as a professor in the fall. Cleaveland said his professor winning "Jeopardy" was very inspirational to him.

In 2009, Ann Folino White was studying theatre at a graduate level with Smith while he was involved in "Jeopardy." White and Smith now are both parts of the MSU Department of Theatre faculty.

White said she was not at all surprised when she had heard that Smith won. She said all of their peers were so thrilled for him during this exciting time.

“It was not at all surprising to any of us that he won,” White said. “He is so deserving and crazy brilliant. It was really a moment where we were all exceedingly happy for him.”

White had many positive thoughts about her colleague Smith, metaphorically comparing him to a human reference guide.

“He’s like a quick reference guide, a human reference guide,” White said. “He is much more accurate than anything you could find on the internet. Dan is absolutely amazing and he continues to be a valued resource.”