Skill contests at sporting events are a great way to keep fans entertained during down times. Often sponsored and offering lavish prizes, these entertaining challenges demand somewhat outrageous feats from participating fans. That’s why, when a student named Noah Lee aced a series of complicated shots for a $10,000 prize at a UMass women’s basketball game, he made headlines around the world. This incredible achievement, unfortunately, was short-lived as the sponsors, insurance company Odds On Promotions, wound up denying the prize over a technicality. Luckily, UMass decided to step in.
Lee was selected for the contest and made his way to the court during halftime. The student was promised $10,000 if he made a layup, free throw, 3-pointer, and half-court shot in 25 seconds. He quickly accomplished these goals to the delight of those in attendance, including his friend Josh Schreiber, broadcaster for UMass Women’s Basketball, who captured the performance on video. The broadcaster posted it to X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, “MY FRIEND JUST DID THIS FOR $10k AT THE @UMassWBB GAME!!!” He even added a hashtag hoping to land his pal on ESPN’S SportsCenter Top 10.
Sadly, the excitement quickly died down. Schreiber reported that Lee was notified by Odds On Promotions that he would not be getting the prize money. The reason given was that his foot was on the line during the epic half-court shot; however, there’s no clear record of this being reported to the student as a disqualifier beforehand. Although UMass had nothing to do with the call, they tried making it up to Lee by offering some court-side seats and UMass gear.
Word of this got to Ryan Bamford, director of athletics at UMass, who took matters into his own hands. “For all those wondering, we’re working on getting $10K to Noah,” he announced 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.”
Schreiber then confirmed UMass had reached out to Lee. The university then shared their own statement on X: “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 additional UMass athletics benefits.”
Although the UMass community was afraid of the bad press this placed around their school, they were happy to hear the issue had a positive outcome for one of their own. “I work for incredible people that always stand on the right thing,” said men’s basketball coach Frank Martin. He later added: “Just got out of practice and Heard that UMASS athletics stepped up and got it done for Noah. Everybody wins.”
When a student named Noah Lee aced a series of complicated shots during a halftime contest at a UMass women’s basketball game, he made headlines around the world.
MY FRIEND JUST DID THIS FOR $10k AT THE @UMassWBB GAME!!!#SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/czpu4jSNXf
— Josh Schreiber (@Jschreiber272) February 6, 2025
Sadly, the insurance company who sponsored the game denied him the $10,000 he had been promised over a technicality.
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
Word of this disappointment got to Ryan Bamford, director of athletics at UMass, who took matters into his own hands.
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 reached out to Lee, and let him know they’d be awarding him the money, as well as a heap of perks.
UPDATE: Noah just let me know that UMass AD @UMassADBamford called him and UMass is GOING TO get him his MONEY that OddsOn Promotions denied him
AGAIN MORE PROOF THIS WAS NOT UMASS’ FAULT.
I’ll keep updating as Noah lets me know info
Shoutout @coachFMartin for helping!! https://t.co/kTXLhwkJXl
— Josh Schreiber (@Jschreiber272) February 7, 2025
“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,” the university wrote.
I officially love @UMassAmherst @UMassAthletics @UMassWBB for doing a real nice thing for Noah! @wbz @Jschreiber272
And shame on the promotional/insurance company.
Here is the UMass Statement: https://t.co/EowsDWv4Jt pic.twitter.com/qbWqUzlGsR
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) February 7, 2025
Sources: Josh Schreiber on X; Ryan Bamford on X; Dan Roche on X; Frank Martin on X; Josh Schreiber on X
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