Ball State bet a semester's tuition on a half-court shot and lost, but the exposure gained from the swish more than made up the difference.
"If we were to place a media valuation on something like this, I’d have to think it is stretching well over half a million dollars for exposure for the university," said Shawn Sullivan, director of marketing and promotions for Ball State athletics.
The shot was picked up by media outlets all across the country, including ESPN and The New York Times. It was also trending on Facebook Thursday and Friday.
Sullivan said the amount of media coverage athletics has gotten is overwhelmingly positive and is great for the university.
“It provides the athletics department and the president’s office a great opportunity to show freshmen when they arrive on campus what athletics is all about," he said.
Although two freshman have made the shot in the past three years, Sullivan said there are no plans so far to make this promotion any more difficult.
“We want to continue this great tradition that is being built before our eyes and we want to provide an opportunity for students to do cool things," Sullivan said.
When Lemuel Turner was picked from the crowd of incoming freshmen to take a free-tuition half-court shot on Aug. 20 during the annual athletics pep rally, he was hesitant to get up from his seat in the bleachers.
“I didn’t really want to get on the court at first,” Turner said. “Then a coach pointed at me and asked, ‘You wanna shoot?’ So I was like, ‘Yeah, I guess I’m going to now.’”
Turner originally wanted to sit in the middle of the crowd, but was convinced by his friends to move into the front row of the stands. Despite playing four years of varsity basketball in high school, Turner said he’s always been the last pick when it came time to play around with half-court shots, and trying to make one on the spot wasn’t in his plans.
“I had no intentions of getting picked to go onto the court, and I walked out there with no idea about what could happen,” Turner said.
When it came time for a warm-up shot, Turner said “everything changed.” After he hit the rim of the basket on the first try, the crowd began cheering and chanting. Turner said it was the first time he had confidence before attempting a half-court shot.
“When I was on the court, I didn’t really realize how many people were in my class until I saw it for myself,” Turner said. “The support from my peers in that moment was surreal.”
Turner dribbled the ball, and after a couple of deep breaths, he took the shot.
“It went right in the basket,” Turner said. “Oh my gosh, it was just absolutely crazy. It became the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
By making the shot, Turner was awarded free tuition for his second semester at Ball State.
After the shot, Turner called his mom right away.
“She was so happy, and I know it brought a lot of happiness and excitement to the both of us," he said.
Turner is a business major from Vernon Hills, Ill., and a member of Ball State’s men’s volleyball team. After the pep rally, Turner said he’s already feeling motivated for the year to come.
“It’s this fun and encouraging atmosphere that really brought me to Ball State, and I love how exciting it’s been for me so far,” Turner said.
Raymond Garcia contributed to this story.
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