Last month 16 men and women gathered at BU Central for the preliminary round of the annual contest to anoint one person BU’s Funniest Student. And the competition was no laughing matter. By night’s end, after an audience of more than 100 students had voted, only 5 comedians would advance to the final round, held one week later.

The five finalists—Josh Bates (CAS’15), Sameer Farooq (CAS’15), Liz Arcury (SHA’14), Matt O’Connor (SAR’15), and Eric Weil (COM’14)—were each invited to perform 10 minutes of material before a packed house.

When the audience had finished voting, Weil emerged as the reigning champ.

In addition to being crowned BU’s Funniest Student and receiving a $250 cash prize, Weil got to open for Daily Show correspondent Al Madrigal at BU Central the following evening.

“Opening for Al Madrigal was an awesome experience,” says Weil. “The crowd was great, and we had a nice back-and-forth.” Madrigal assured the BU comic that making a career telling jokes is feasible as long as you put in the time and dedication.

Weil’s new title could come in handy next semester, when he will go to Los Angeles for BU Study Abroad’s LA Internship program and will intern on Conan O’Brien’s late-night TBS show, Conan. After that, Weil hopes for a career in television comedy. “I’d love to make a career out of stand-up comedy, but I’m aware how slim the odds are,” he says. “However, I’ll still continue to get on stage as much as possible to fine-tune my skills, make connections, and develop a unique comedic voice.”

More immediately, Weil plans to take advantage of another perk his new title confers. “Telling girls you’re BU’s Funniest Student isn’t the worst pickup line out there,” he says.