Nikki Boon, a student from North Central University, won the $123,000 grand prize scholarship. (credit: Ketchum for Dr. Pepper)
By Bruce Hagevik, NewsRadio 830 WCCO
ATLANTA (WCCO) – With just a few tosses of a football, a Minneapolis woman won a $123,000 scholarship.
The contest, sponsored by Dr. Pepper, was held during halftime of a Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta, Ga. Nikki Boon had been selected to compete after submitting a video explaining why she deserved the scholarship.
Boon won the scholarship by tossing a football into an over-sized Dr. Pepper can from a distance of 5 yards. She had 30 seconds to hit the approximately 24-inch opening more times than anyone else, which she did with seven successful throws.
“I was doing a hundred throws, five days a week to practice,” said Boon. She practiced in Lakeville on a replica target set up by a friend.
She had some good advice from a customer at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in downtown Minneapolis, where she works. Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Ray Edwards suggested she throw the football like a basketball.
The prize money comes at a good time. Boon, who grew up in Grandville, Mich. and now attends North Central University in Minneapolis, intends to use the money to transfer to Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., where she’ll study the music business.
“This is a miracle, I wasn’t going to be able to go without this money,” said Boon.
Another student, from Kentucky, took home $23,000 for tuition.
NewsRadio 830 WCCO’s John Hines Reports
WCCO-TV’s Mike Binkley Reports
