MISSOULA – A University of Montana student who kicked a field goal to win a $10,000 prize during a Griz game likely won’t get the money because he hadn’t been away from the sport of football long enough.
Matthew Brenner, a 20-year-old sophomore, kicked a 45-yard field goal during UM’s “Kick for Cash” contest on Saturday.
But he didn’t meet the qualifications to be a contestant because he hadn’t been away from organized football for five years. Brenner kicked a 27-yard field goal to lift his high school team, the Sidney Eagles, to a homecoming victory in 2007.
“You can play high school football, as long as you’re five years removed from that,” said Dan Ingram, account executive for Grizzly Sports Properties, which organized the contest. “He signed a contestant agreement prior to him kicking and it listed the regulations.”
Brenner said he didn’t really read the contract before he signed it.
“In the excitement of the moment, he just signed it,” Ingram said. “There are about 11 different rules or regulations they have.”
Carlos Concha, a spokesman for Hole In One International, which wrote the insurance policy, said the insurance premium for such contests is typically in the $300 to $500 range. To make the odds against making the kick higher, contestants are required to have been out of football for five years.
Ingram said Grizzly Sports Properties is trying to come up with a consolation prize.
“We’re going to try to do something or put something together for him. We obviously can’t give him $10,000, but some sort of consolation prize,” Ingram said. “It’s obviously disappointing for him, and we don’t want him to go away with hard feelings.”
Brenner said he has some.
“It’s been two years since I’ve kicked a football, but I guess that doesn’t matter now,” he said. “I guess they can’t take away the fact that I made it.”