ARLINGTON, Texas — One of the staple competitions at halftime of the 2023 Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship is the tuition giveaway – where two contestants throw footballs into a massive Dr Pepper can.
The competition for the 2023 Big 12 Championship was a tight race, one that went to double overtime. But should it have? WFAA's Marc Istook posted a video to X, formerly known as Twitter, which showed the contestant who ultimately won the competition later on, and the $100,000 scholarship prize, was credited with an extra ball to force a tie.
"Are these Big 12 refs? The Dr. Pepper Halftime toss - watch the guy on the left get credit for 6 after only nailing 5," Istook posted.
Istook then posted the video with an edited counter over the video:
The ABC broadcast team addressed the controversy toward the end of the game, where they said both contestants would be awarded $100,000 scholarships. Dr Pepper sent WFAA the following statement regarding the halftime toss:
“In a dramatic double OT Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway during the Big 12 Conference championship game, an on-field technical error resulted in an inaccurate accounting of the double tie break. As such, Dr Pepper will recognize both finalists as grand prize winners with both receiving the $100K award in Tuition.”
Quinn Ewers set a career high by throwing for 452 yards with four touchdowns, one of those to 362-pound defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat, and the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns bid farewell to the Big 12 with a 49-21 win over No. 19 Oklahoma State in the conference championship game Saturday.
The Southeastern Conference-bound Longhorns (12-1, No. 7 CFP) will leave the Big 12 with bookend titles, and four overall. They also won it in the league's inaugural 1996 season, in 2005 when they were last national champs and in 2009 before playing in the BCS national championship game.
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