A major auto dealer in Indiana has been caught in a scandal for reneging on a reward to a college student based on a technicality. During the opening game of the season at Purdue University, Rohrman Automotive Group held its “Kicks for Cash” contest, in which a student must complete three field goals within 30 seconds to win a free two-year car lease. Zachary Spangler competed in the friendly contest and made all three goals to thunderous applause. A few days later, the dealership told Spangler he missed making the final kick by a fraction of a second, setting off a wave of backlash against Rohrman so publicly damning that the dealership has ultimately decided to offer the student the reward it promised him in the first place.
The brouhaha all began on August 31 after Spangler made consecutive 20-, 30-, and 40-yard field goals at Ross-Ade Stadium during the contest held by the dealership at Purdue’s game against Indiana State. Spangler became the second student to win the competition, according to Purdue’s The Exponent independent student newspaper, and a free two-year lease from the auto dealer was forthcoming. At least that’s what Spangler and the stadium’s crowd of nearly 60,000 fans believed.
Days after being announced as the winner of the contest, Spangler got an email from the Director of Operations at Bob Rohrman Honda, Trey Rohrman, telling the college junior that the game’s video footage showed the last kick was booted a fraction of a second late, per Automotive News. Spangler said the dealership told him it was “five-hundredths of a second late,” to be exact. So, despite him making all three field goals in 30.05 seconds, he would not be getting the two-year lease as a prize. He would instead receive a $250 reward, a paltry consolation prize compared to a free car for two years.
Spangler said he was never told that the ball had to be off his foot before the 30 seconds on the clock had run out. He maintains he was told to “just go out there and kick.” Rohrman’s statement to The Exponent read, “We are disappointed that Zach was led to believe that he did accomplish the challenge. Our decision to not award him the grand prize was not personal, simply out of principle and rules-based.”
You can imagine how Spangler and his fellow students took the news; Spangler told the university paper that their immediate reaction was a resounding claim of “That’s bullshit!” But Rohrman faced the outcry steadfastly and stood by the decision taken by its insurance company—for a few days, at least.
Rival dealerships started flooding Spangler with their own offers for a free two-year lease. Even a local restaurant got in on the fun, offering the farm management student a year of free burgers. The backlash and negative light cast on the dealer got to a point that convinced the Rohrman Group to do an about-face and offer Spangler the prize, after all. The dealer even changed the rules for future “Kicks for Cash” contests, eliminating the 30-second timer altogether. The dealership then claimed that Spangler’s “incredible kicks should be rewarded,” per The Exponent.
The dealer ultimately offered Spangler a choice between a free two-year lease or a $5,000 prize. The student told the paper that, after talking over his choices with his parents, he decided to take the prize money instead of the lease. He added that he already has a working car. The dealership says it will nonetheless donate another $5,000 dollars to the university’s Ross-Ade Brigade, to help fund student travel to away games. Let that be a lesson to major auto dealers: don’t pull the turf from under a student contest winner. It’s never a good look.
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