UPDATE: UMass Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford pledged to get the $10,000 prize into the hands of Lee on Friday, whether the insurance company contributes or not. Bamford announced on X that the athletic department will pay Lee directly if a resolution is not reached with the host of the promotion. UMass men’s basketball head coach Frank Martin helped reach a happy ending to the saga by reaching out on X and bringing the situation to the attention of the school.

Noah Lee fleetingly became $10,000 richer thanks to a half-court snipe at halftime of the UMass women’s basketball game against St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night. It was later decided that Lee, a senior operations and info management major at UMass, had a foot scarcely over the halfway line, taking away the grand prize.

The challenge was hosted by a promotion company called Odds On Promotions, who require the contestant to make a layup, free throw, 3-pointer and half-court shot all within 30 seconds to claim victory. Lee did exactly that, making all four shots in a row with very minimal help from the rim. The Mullins Center erupted as the final shot sank through the net and Lee launched the ball into the air in celebration.

“[The] half-court shot, [I] put it up and realized mid-air, like ‘Wow, that has a chance,'” Lee said. “When it went in, it was pretty surreal … It was a ton of fun in the moment.”

During the third quarter and after he made the shot, Lee received a form to sign that acknowledged the rules of the contest. A UMass athletics representative told him that the promotion company would review the footage to make the final call and that they are quite strict about the foot placement on the release of the shot. At the conclusion of the game, there was still no definitive ruling.

“[On Thursday], I got an email from the UMass athletics representative saying that the promotion company got back to them and said my foot was on the line and they will not be paying it out, which is obviously a little disappointing,” Lee said.

After the decision was reached, UMass sent Lee a compensatory offer. The proposition included suite and courtside tickets to home basketball games, $100 in gift cards to use for Mullins Center concessions and a gift basket of school-branded gear. It also included another attempt at a future on-court shooting contest, this time for $1,000. The Massachusetts Collective, a donor-driven NIL collective supporting UMass basketball, also reached out and offered Lee another chance at the $10k half-court shot.

Lee’s shot has quickly become one heard around the world, as the video has circulated rapidly on social media. ESPN posted it on TikTok, where it’s quickly amassed over two million views. Other popular social media accounts, like Barstool Sports, House of Highlights and Sports Illustrated, all posted the clip to its accounts as well. Thousands of sports fans are voicing their opinions on the situation in comment sections across social media.

“I definitely consider myself a little bit of an introvert and it’s pretty nuts to have all this happening,” Lee said. “I wouldn’t say that I’m someone who loves the spotlight or really craves the spotlight by any means, but I’m definitely enjoying it. Like, opening up social media and seeing [myself] is a pretty crazy feeling, something I’ve never had before.”

Initially, Lee was hesitant on participating at all. He was sitting in the stands when a promoter approached him and asked if he wanted to take part in the challenge. He eventually agreed despite the uncertainty and the dramatic events of the night unfolded soon after.

Drilling four straight shots on a regulation college basketball court fresh out of the bleachers is no easy task, which is why the prize reward was so high in the first place. Luckily for Lee, his previous basketball experience made the challenge much more realistic for him. He was most worried about missing the layup in embarrassing fashion, but he instead made all four attempts look effortless.

“Thankfully, I’ve played a lot of basketball in my life, so I was pretty well-prepared for the moment,” Lee said. “I’ve been playing basketball from a pretty young age, really enjoy the sport and I guess it all [combined] there at that moment.”

Lee certainly was not expecting the night to play out the way it did when he arrived to watch the Minutewomen cruise to an 81-54 victory over the Bonnies. Regardless of what happens in the future with the prize money, Lee and his roommates, who witnessed the happenings live, will always have an extraordinary story to tell.

“At the end of the day, sure it really sucks with the money, who knows how that’ll play out with the $10,000,” Lee said. “But, these memories that we’ve all kind of made because of this event are pretty priceless and I’ll definitely remember these for quite a while.”

Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @cam_pellegrino.