COLUMBUS, Ohio — The price of a college education can be daunting.

What You Need To Know

  • Gavin White, a junior at The Ohio State University, won the $100k Dr Pepper tuition scholarship at the Big 12 championship game

  • He won this during the Dr Pepper halftime challenge

  • White almost did not win, but because of a scoring error he was able to take home the scholarship

But thanks to Dr Pepper, one Ohio State student’s college tuition is becoming a lot more affordable. Gavin White never expected to get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“It was kind of a surreal moment,” he said. “I didn’t think it was real at first,.”

It all started with a phone call that completely changed the OSU junior’s life, a call he said he almost didn’t answer.

“I got a phone call from a random number,” he said. “I didn’t recognize it, almost didn’t answer it. I did end up answering, and I’m glad I did because it was the Dr Pepper team.”

Back in September, White had applied to participate in the Dr Pepper halftime challenge, an annual competition at the Big 12 championship game that pits two students against each other.

The call informed him he had been chosen as one of two contestants for the challenge. The goal is simple: whoever throws more footballs into a Dr Pepper bottle during the allotted time wins $100,000 in tuition.

But last Saturday’s competition was anything but simple. It went into double overtime, where initially, it appeared White had lost.

“I mean, in the moment, I thought that I had lost something,” White said. “And it was, I was excited for for him, of course. I mean, that’s huge life changing for anyone, but of course, I was disappointed in myself in the moment, like, ‘oh, man, I just lost $100,000.’”

But all that changed an hour later, when organizers let him know there was a scoring error. In the end, Dr Pepper gave both contestants the full tuition money.

“I just kind of went from kind of being disappointed to being overjoyed,” he said. “Like, it’s hard to explain just how happy I was in the moment. It was an unbelievable experience and just quite a roller coaster of emotions.

So, what’s he going to do with the money? He hasn’t completely decided, but he said he may use it to go back to school after he earns his undergraduate degree.

“With winning the scholarship, that completely changes everything,” he said. “I mean, graduating debt free is now a very likely possibility. And, and now graduate school is also in the realm of possibility as well.”

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