UMass vows to reward student for half-court shot after promotion company denies prize money

Noah Lee, a senior operations and information management major at UMass Amherst, was casually watching the Massachusetts Minutewomen take on the St. Bonaventure Bonnies on Wednesday night before the shot happened.

Lee was sitting in the stands when he was approached by a promoter for Odds On Promotions, a company specializing in sports halftime contests. The promoter asked Lee if he wanted to participate in a halftime challenge requiring him to make a handful of shots for $10,000 in prize money.

Shortly after the halftime buzzer sounded with Massachusetts' 36-26 lead, Lee took the court with the task of sinking four straight shots in 30 seconds: a layup, a free throw, a 3-pointer and a half-court shot.

As the promoter gave Lee the countdown to begin, Lee took one dribble and finished the layup. He swished the free throw before knocking down the college-level 3-pointer.

"Noah for 3!" the promoter said before Lee took a stab at the half-court shot.

Lee took two dribbles before sinking it to seemingly win the contest. The crowd at the Mullins Center roared in celebration.

"[The] half-court shot, [I] put it up and realized midair, like, 'Wow, that has a chance,'" Lee told the Daily Collegian. "When it went in, it was pretty surreal. ... It was a ton of fun in the moment."

After apparently winning the contest, he received a form to sign, acknowledging that he understood the rules. A representative of the Massachusetts athletic department told Lee that the promotion and prize insurance company would review his shots, stating that it would make the final call and that it was strict about the foot placement on the half-court shot.

On Thursday, Lee received an email from a Massachusetts athletic department representative saying that the company concluded that his foot was on the line for the half-court shot and that he wouldn't receive the prize money.

However, the department is trying to do right by Lee.

Though the decision didn't come from UMass, the athletic department wanted to ensure Lee was rewarded for sinking all four shots. UMass offered Lee suite and courtside tickets for a home basketball game, $100 gift cards for concessions at the Mullins Center, and a swag bag of UMass gear. The school also offered him another opportunity to partake in a future shooting contest for $1,000. Massachusetts' NIL collective even offered Lee another chance to sink just a half-court shot for $10,000 cash next Wednesday during the Massachusetts Minutemen's game against the Davidson Wildcats.

On Friday, UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford said the school is working on getting Lee the $10,000 reward. It's trying to access the prize money through the insurance company. But if the school can't get a "good result," Bamford said, the school will pay Lee directly.

The school will reward Lee at another Massachusetts women's basketball game, Bamford added.

The Minutewomen are 13-10 on the season and riding a four-game winning streak.