Student Wins $10,000 But Company Refuses To Pay Out

UMass senior Noah Lee just went viral for doing something incredible….

He won the $10,000 halftime competition where you have to make a layup, a free throw, a three pointer and a half court shot.

Incredible, right?

It turns out the insurance company that sponsored the competition didn’t think so and they refused to pay up because his “foot was on the line”.

Take a look:

NEW: UMass student wins $10,000 during a halftime competition only to be notified that the school's insurance partner wouldn't be paying him because his "foot was on the line."

Horrible marketing for this insurance company 😂

Senior Noah Lee needed to make a lay-up, free throw,… pic.twitter.com/qjpjPTg9Kd

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 7, 2025

NEW: UMass student wins $10,000 during a halftime competition only to be notified that the school’s insurance partner wouldn’t be paying him because his “foot was on the line.”

Horrible marketing for this insurance company 😂

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Senior Noah Lee needed to make a lay-up, free throw, three-pointer, and then a half-court shot to win $10,000.

After making the shots, Lee was notified one day later that the “insurance partner” who allegedly sponsored the challenge wouldn’t be paying him the money.

“The half-court shot is disqualified because you were not behind the line,” Lee was told.

Instead, they gave him a gift card and a “swag bag.”

Wow, what a bad call and terrible look for the insurance company!

Luckily, UMass itself stepped in and paid up:

Umass came in clutch pic.twitter.com/9QNS2Xuc7c

— Chris Rollison (@RollisonChris) February 7, 2025

That’s the right call right there!

The AP had more details on how it all went down:

A UMass student who made a half-court shot during a women’s basketball game halftime promotion will get his $10,000 prize from the school itself after the insurance company refused to pay because, it said, his foot was on the line.

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Noah Lee was selected for the contest on Wednesday that required him to make a layup, free throw, 3-pointer and half-court shot in 25 seconds. He made them all, but the school said the insurance company handling the promotion declined the payout.

“After their review of the four camera angles we provided, they determined the half-court shot was disqualified as it was not taken behind the half-court line,” the school said Friday. “We weren’t satisfied with that outcome and arrived at the decision to provide Noah with both a $10,000 award and a host of additional UMass athletics benefits.”

Josh Schreiber, who identified himself as a UMass women’s basketball broadcaster and Lee’s best friend, said the school initially offered a package that included tickets, gift cards and UMass swag. On Friday morning, UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford said Lee would get his money — one way or the other.

“For all those wondering, we’re working on getting $10K to Noah,” Bamford posted on X. “If we can’t get to a good result via the insurance company, we will pay him directly. We appreciate his support of @UMassAthletics & want to reward his fun accomplishment the other night at our @UMassWBB game.”

OddsOn Promotions, a Reno, Nevada, company that offers prize indemnification insurance, did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The biggest question on everyone’s mind seems to be “What insurance company made this call?”

Here’s what ChatGPT told me:

It’s unclear if OddsOn Promotions or Everest National Insurance Company or some other entity made the decision to not pay out, but whoever it was that was a really bad take.