A Purdue University student thought he had won a two-year car lease for scoring three field goals in a contest during the Boilermakers’ season opener, but the dealership sponsor later told him the prize was invalid because the final kick left his foot a split second too late.
Zachary Spangler’s successful kicks from 20, 30 and 40 yards drew cheers from the crowd of nearly 60,000 fans and a loud blast of the Ross Ade Stadium train horn during a halftime of Purdue’s Aug. 31 game at Rohrman Field. On Sept. 5, Spangler received an email from Trey Rohrman, Indiana’s director of operations for Rohrman Automotive Group, saying he only won $250 because video replay showed the 30-second shot clock had expired.
The decision to deny the lease came from the dealership group’s insurance company, Rohrman said in a statement to Purdue’s student newspaper, which published an editorial saying Spangler deserved the award.
“We are disappointed that Zach was led to believe that he actually accomplished the challenge,” Rohrman wrote. “Our decision not to award him the grand prize was not personal, simply based on principle and rules.”
In a Sept. 10 statement to Automotive News, Rohrman Auto said it was working with Purdue “to make this experience right for Zach, as well as future participants. And, thanks to the detailed review of the Kicks for Cash Challenge process, Rohrman and Purdue will be updating the sweepstakes challenge.”
Spangler said he wasn’t upset about losing his car — “I’ve got a car here that runs great,” he told the Purdue Exponent — but he was upset that his apparent victory was quietly overturned afterward. He also noted that football rules do not require field goal attempts to be kicked before time expires, as long as the ball is thrown in time.
“It would count if you were 12, even if you were 38,” Spangler said. “I was never told the ball had to leave my foot before 30 seconds, because they were like, ‘Hey, go out there and shoot.'”
Several other dealerships contacted Spangler offering free leases on cars as word spread. Curry Automotive Center in Bloomington said he could drive a Chevrolet Blazer EV for two years, a deal worth about $15,000.
In a LinkedIn post, Trey Rohrman said Spangler missed out on winning the Kicks for Cash contest by 0.07 seconds. He responded to several comments urging the dealership to award the car anyway, saying the stadium announcer incorrectly declared Spangler the winner without time for a review.
“Last year we had 2 kids successfully win a car,” Rohrman responded to a commenter. “I don’t know why so many are having trouble following rules if this is a challenge.”
Purdue named its football field after Rohrman Auto founder Bob Rohrman in 2020 after his family donated $15 million to help fund stadium renovations.