Halftime at Fordham Men’s basketball games will continue to provide added excitement, thanks to a gift from parents Brian and Kathy Gordon that gives one lucky Fordham student the chance to shoot from the half court line for a $40,000 scholarship.
If the randomly selected student can make two half-court shots in three chances, he or she will win the prize, which would cover a year of tuition at Fordham.
“It’s a very attractive incentive and we’re thankful to the Gordons for providing such a great gift,” said Ryan St. Germain, assistant director of development at Fordham. “The Gordons are big supporters—season ticket holders for basketball and football—and they often travel with us. Brian is very enthusiastic about our sports marketing efforts and had asked if it were possible for us to do something exciting in this way.”
The Gordons have supported Fordham basketball, football and cheerleading efforts since their children Raymond (CBA ’03) and Pamela (FCRH ’07) were students. So when St. Germain pitched the idea of buying an insurance policy that would pay $40,000 should a student sink two out of three hoops from half court, they were all for it.
“We love Fordham,” said Kathy Gordon. “We fell in love with it ever since our children went there so we figured, why not? This will be good. Hopefully it will bring some more kids to the game.”
The scholarship shootout prize will be offered at seven games each year for three years—or until someone makes the money shots, of course. Since the two shots weren’t made at the Dec. 19 game against Villanova at New Jersey’s Izod Center, another lucky student will have a chance at a future game.
And there may be similar opportunities available to students in the future.
“We’re hoping this gift inspires other members of the Fordham community to do something similar for other sports,” St. Germain said.
