For the first-ever “College vs. Cancer” event, multi-talented entertainer Nick Kroll will join Vanessa Bayer, Kate Berland and a very special “surprise guest” at USC’s Bing Theatre on April 6.
Dedicating the night to laughter, hope and awareness around cancer, the comedians will perform alongside musicians and student talent. The night will celebrate connection, storytelling and the power of coming together around blood cancer research.
Comedy and cancer may not always be associated with one another, but for the Kroll family, combining them has been an incredibly rewarding way to help cancer patients, survivors and fuel funding for world-leading cancer research. After Niccole Kroll (Nick Kroll’s sister-in-law) beat her own cancer journey with her friend Jen Rogers, they later co-founded Comedy vs. Cancer with Nick Kroll, an annual comedic fundraising event supporting blood cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Previous years have featured top talent, including John Mulaney, Amy Schumer, Tina Fey and Seth Meyers.
Now, seven years after their first comedy show and with over $7 million raised, Comedy vs. Cancer’s mission has arrived at USC, made possible by Jacoby Kroll, Nick Kroll’s nephew and a Real Estate Development student at USC.
College vs. Cancer is an extension of Comedy vs. Cancer, with the goal of expanding their mission to universities across the country to broaden reach, spread awareness and share inspiring stories about cancer journeys.
Ahead of the event, Jacoby Kroll and Nick Kroll spoke about the significance of this night.
For event producer Jacoby Kroll, the comedy special has been a culmination of many conversations and hard work. Growing up attending the yearly Comedy vs. Cancer events, the moment that stays with him was when he surprised his mother, Niccole Kroll, two years ago by showing up to the event while studying abroad in Paris, even rearranging his finals just to be there. Seeing how much it meant to her made him want to be involved in expanding its mission.
“Through those conversations, we decided why not bring this to colleges? Students are affected by cancer just as much as adults are. We just felt USC was a great opportunity and a great place to start,” Jacoby Kroll said.
The idea for College vs. Cancer also grew out of a moment at a previous Comedy vs. Cancer show.
“I believe there were one or two college kids at [Comedy vs Cancer] who had recently finished treatment for cancer, and we just started talking about ‘what if we brought this kind of show to college?’ Jacoby really ran with it,” Nick Kroll said.
Beyond the family connection, Nick Kroll added that it felt like a natural home for the show.
“USC has such an incredible research facility for cancer that is actually working in conjunction with Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York that we’ve been funding for many years, and obviously, simultaneously has an incredible connection to arts and entertainment and comedy. And so it just felt like a really cool opportunity to bring it to campus,” Kroll said.
In just three months, College vs. Cancer has already surpassed expectations and goals, raising over $75,000 while ticket sales have been building momentum heading into this week.
Behind Jacoby Kroll’s dedication to bringing an unforgettable event to our Los Angeles campus, he collaborated with the USC’s Comic + Care team, giving a special shout-out to Zachary Steel, the director of USC’s Comic + Care, whose connections and network were instrumental in bringing comedians on board.
Nick Kroll is ready to take the spotlight at USC’s Bing Theatre. He’s no stranger to collegiate campus events. His last college show was at Florida State University, where he said, “It’s so funny that a show I did at Florida State was on the Axe Body Spray Tour. It was me, Chelsea Peretti, Whitney Cummings and Donald Glover…Pre-Childish Gambino.”
Kroll revealed that “In addition to incredibly established comedians, we’re going to have a few comedians who currently are from USC and recently graduated alums. To really make it specific to USC, which I think makes the show much more special.”
The comedian reminisced, saying “I’ve performed at colleges, there’s amazing shows that come through. But the idea that there’s also a component of fundraising and acknowledgement of something as real and intense as cancer is, I think, cool. We can acknowledge how hard things are and then also they’ll have a super fun night.”
Attendees can also participate in a fundraising challenge: raising $500 unlocks VIP status and a Nick Kroll selfie taken from the stage, $1,000 adds exclusive limited-edition merch, and the top two fundraisers will be invited to a Los Angeles premiere with Nick Kroll and crowned the 2026 College vs Cancer Champion of the Year.
I asked both Jacoby and Nick what they wanted the USC community to feel when all is said and done. For Jacoby Kroll, he has no doubt that this event is a very special opportunity. It’s a way for the community to come together and find joy in something that’s very serious and impacts millions of people’s lives. He wants people to walk out feeling like this is a cause they want to be a part of and even be inspired to start something of their own, but in a way where they get to enjoy and laugh along the way.
As for Nick Kroll, he said, “I honestly just want people to have a blast. We’re gonna do that, and we’re gonna raise money for a really worthwhile cause. And just raise awareness that cancer affects us all and we can, no matter how old you are, start to make a difference.”
College vs Cancer will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at USC’s Bing Theatre on April 6. You can find more information about Comedy vs Cancer here.