UMass to Make Good on $10,000 Halfcourt Shot Reward After Ruling Controversy

UMass Amherst is doing the right thing following the controversy surrounding an on-court halftime contest at Wednesday night's women's basketball game.

By completing a free throw, a three-pointer, and a halfcourt shot in under 30 seconds, a student named Noah was set to receive a $10,000 reward. That was until he was notified by the promotions company that his foot was on the line—and his grand prize would be rescinded.

🚨🚨UPDATE: Noah was just notified by INSURANCE he is NOT getting the money😡😡😡

They say his foot was on the line DESPITE not being told BEFOREHAND that it had to be BEHIND the line

OddsOn Promotions is the company

This is what UMass offered instead:@espn @zoomasschicks https://t.co/ggyW1OnDcX pic.twitter.com/v7bBAUxxZZ
— Josh Schreiber (@Jschreiber272) February 6, 2025

Significant uproar has since ensued, and UMass is set to do the right thing, honoring the $10,000 gift to Noah that the promotions company would not.

"For all those wondering, we’re working on getting $10K to Noah," UMass's director of athletics Ryan Bamford wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday morning. "If we can’t get to a good result via the insurance company, we will pay him directly. We appreciate his support of [UMass athletics] & want to reward his fun accomplishment the other night at our [UMass women's basketball] game."

For all those wondering, we’re working on getting $10K to Noah. 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. 🚩
— Ryan Bamford (@UMassADBamford) February 7, 2025

UMass Athletics also released the following statement:

"We appreciate Noah taking part in the series shootout promotion at our recent women's basketball game and applaud his efforts. After the contest, we informed Noah we would share the footage with our insurance partner as the next step. 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. 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 other UMass athletics benefits."

Good work, UMass.

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