The students handed victory in BBC's University Challenge after their Oxford rivals were disqualified for fielding an ineligible candidate have branded their triumph "hollow".
Corpus Christi College - who beat Manchester University 275 to 190 in the show's grand final - have been stripped of the title by the BBC after it emerged team member Sam Kay had already graduated and is in full-time employment.
Manchester have now instead been declared winners, but team contestant Henry Pertinez, 27, said their rivals "beat us fair and square" and his team was only awarded the series title "on a technicality".
More than 5.3 million viewers, a record audience, tuned in to see last week's final which featured Corpus Christi's brainbox contestant Gail Trimble.
The 26-year-old Latin scholar scored two-thirds of her team's 1,200 points before the final and has been described as the "best contestant ever".
Manchester's team captain, Phd student Matthew Yeo, 25, said of Oxford's disqualification: "This is certainly not how we wanted to be awarded the trophy and to be crowned champions of University Challenge.
"We feel not only has this detracted from the award but also detracted from the enormous fun of being on University Challenge."
Corpus Christi's Kay took a job with accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers after graduating with a first in Chemistry last June. He then travelled to the Granada TV studios to join his teammates for filming in Manchester during the latter stages of the competition.
He said: "I hugely regret not confirming my change of status to the University Challenge programme makers before the final rounds.
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"I had honestly believed I was eligible as I had indicated my course dates when I applied. I can only apologise to the other competitors and especially to my team as it was never my intention to mislead anyone."
