There Was Some Serious Controvery Around Purdue's Kicks For Cash Contest

There can't be a higher high than kicking some field goals during halftime of a college football game to win a car, but a Purdue University student kicking contest launched a strange controversy that involved the prize being withheld because his final kick was five-hundredths of a second too late.

The Boilermakers hold a Kicks for Cash contest at halftime in which a contestant attempts to kick field goals from 20, 30, and 40 yards in 30 seconds. With the prize for nailing all three being a two-year lease on a car.

According to Purdue newspaper The Exponent, junior farm management student Zachary Spangler got the nod to compete at the home opener against Indiana State late last month and he miraculously drilled all three kicks.

That's impressive in and of itself. Dudes playing on scholarship have to focus when kicking a clean 40-yarder.

So, surely, Spangler was sure to be the toast of West Lafayette, whipping around campus in his newly-leased automobile and stopping for a bite to eat at Triple XXX (that's the only Purdue reference I've got. Good root beer there).

However, several days after what for many of us would be the high watermark of our life, Spangler was notified by the dealership that was in on the contest — Rohrman Automotive — that he wouldn't be getting his lease.

The reason? The dealer's insurance company had video evidence that Spangler's final kick came five-hundredths of a second after the thirty-second clock had run out.

That's a tough break, and rules are rules, but that seems like nitpicking, doesn't it?

Spangler, however, is a gamer, and he told The Exponent he was more bummed that his impressive 40-yard field goal was being called into question than he was about not getting the car.

"I have a car here that runs just fine," he told them. "I'm just more upset about how I hit the 40-yarder and they’re saying I didn’t because it came off my foot five-hundredths of a second late."

I'm with him. That's bogus.

A Purdue student who drilled a field goal a fraction of a second too late in a halftime contest will be getting the prize he deserves. (Getty Images)

The Dealership Made Things Right After Backlash

Rohrman Automotive faced significant backlash from this and is now offering Spangler the two-year lease or $5,000 cash, according to the Journal & Courier.

"We acknowledge that the process to determine whether Zach qualified for the grand prize took too long and his incredible kick should be rewarded," director of operations for Rohrman Automotive Group, Trey Rohrman, said in a news release. "We are committed to an improved and more transparent contest for future games, and we appreciate the public’s scrutiny of the process to help us evolve and make this challenge even better and more fun than ever before."

To avoid any issues like this moving forward, the competition will do away with the 30-second clock.

It was an ugly road, but it sure seems like they came to the right conclusion in the end. Congrats to Spangler on one hell of a performance.