Pizza Hut Gives Jack Lavery $10K And Free Pizza For Half-Court Shot

Pizza Hut knows a good promotional opportunity when it sees one.

When the folks at West Chester University refused to give college student Jack Lavery his award for hitting a half-court shot, the pizza chain decided to step up to the plate. Not only does the guy get free pizza for a year, he also gets a check for a cool $10,000.

Here’s what happened: Lavery took part in a basketball competition at the aforementioned university. Although he ultimately made a series of tricky shots in an allotted amount of time, it took him two tries to make the last one happen. As such, the college decided he didn’t qualify for the prize.

Although Pizza Hut didn’t have a horse in that race, they felt Jack Lavery deserved to win the prize since he managed to do a layup, a foul shot, a three-pointer, and the half-court shot within the span of 25 seconds. It may have taken him twice to nail the last one, but he still came in under the buzzer.

NBC 10 Philadelphia explains that Lavery was understandably disappointed by the university’s decision to disqualify him from the prize.

“After all that celebration, they told me I’m not going to get it,” he explained.

However, he didn’t have to spent too long in the doldrums. Pizza Hut announced their decision to give the student a check for $10,000 and a year’s worth of free pizza in a post on Twitter. In fact, the company tweeted him directly with the offer.

Check out the original post below.

Hey @JackLavs22, we know greatness when we see it. We have a check for $10K and free pizza for a year for you. What say you? #PayJackLavs

— Pizza Hut (@pizzahut) February 18, 2014

Not surprisingly, Jack was pretty stoked about the offer.

I feel incredibly blessed and honored to be awarded the generous gift of $10k and free pizza for a year! Thank you @pizzahut You guys rock

— Lavs (@JackLavs22) February 18, 2014

I also wanted to give a s/o to everyone who helped me along the way. You guys mean so much to me and I am so thankful you are all in my life

— Lavs (@JackLavs22) February 18, 2014

Pizza Hut spokesperson Doug Terfehr said the company couldn’t sit idly by while Lavery got the short end of the stick in the competition. Instead of doing nothing, the chain decided to give the student what they felt he deserved.

“Once we heard about it, it caught all of our attention. That was one that seemed a pretty remarkable feat with a disappointing ending for everybody. These are moments that we can all appreciate that are better than an average day,” Terfehr said.

Are you surprised that Pizza Hut gave Jack Lavery $10,000 and free pies for a year after West Chester University dropped the ball?

[Image via Radu Bercan / Shutterstock.com]