Car dealer reverses course and awards prize to Purdue student who made 40-yard field goal at halftime of home opener

Purdue student Zach Spangler is being rightfully rewarded for his halftime efforts.

Spangler kicked a 40-yard field goal at halftime of Purdue’s home-opener against Indiana State on Aug. 31. He was a part of a contest sponsored by the Rohrman Automotive Group and was set to get $250 and a two-year lease on a car from the dealer for making the field goal.

It wasn’t nearly as straightforward as it should have been, however. The car dealer informed Spangler last week that his kick came 0.005 seconds after the 30-second time limit expired on the contest. And since his foot hit the ball fractions of a second too late, he wouldn’t be getting the car lease.

"Our decision to not award him the grand prize was not personal, but simply out of principle and rules based," Trey Rohrman told Purdue's student paper the Exponent in an email over the weekend. "We are disappointed that Zach was led to believe that he did accomplish the challenge."

The dealer’s principled stand was short-sighted. And, quite frankly, didn’t make business sense. Instead of showing the slightest bit of generosity and immediately giving Spangler the lease, the dealer opened itself up to criticism for being hard-headed and cheap. Plus, it gave rival car dealers the opportunity to jump in for some goodwill themselves and potentially give Spangler a lease on the car.

Clearly, the Rohrman Automotive Group realized the cost of their stand was far greater than the cost of giving Spangler the car. Spangler told the Exponent on Tuesday that he had been given the option of a two-year lease or $5,000.

He’s taking the cash. And his kick has prompted a rules change too. The contest will still go on at Purdue home games but will proceed without a 30-second clock.