School's chancellor overrules `over the line' decision on $10,000 shot

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - A mid-court shot at halftime of the Mississippi State-Arkansas game Tuesday night was worth $10,000 to Michael Collyar of Fort Smith - but only after UA Chancellor John White overruled a decision to deny the recent graduate the promotional prize. <br> <br> Immediately after Collyar sank the shot with a heave from the center of the basketball court as part of a promotion, an announcement over the public-address system said the shot wouldn&#39;t count Collyar&#39;s foot was over the line. <br> <br> Walton Arena was quickly filled with a huge chorus of boos from the 18,037 fans in attendance. Even athletic director Frank Broyles displayed his displeasure, waving his arms as he proclaimed: ``That&#39;s awful, that&#39;s awful.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Moments later, White authorized paying the money to Collyar. That announcement was met by cheers, and Collyar grabbed a large white flag emblazoned with a red razorback and made a triumphal run around the court. <br> <br> ``That was the right thing to do,&#39;&#39; White said. ``Bless his heart, he thought he had it. He just graduated. This will help him pay some bills. It&#39;s a good way to start the new year.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Assistant athletic director Matt Shanklin said the position of Collyar&#39;s foot meant the money wouldn&#39;t have been paid by the insurance company with which the university had a policy to pay the prize. But White said the money would be paid on a 50-50 basis by the University Foundation and the Razorback Foundation. <br> <br> Collyar confirmed White&#39;s remarks, saying he had a pile of student loans to pay off after getting a degree in computer engineering in December. <br> <br> ``I can&#39;t thank Coach Broyles and John White enough,&#39;&#39; Collyar said. ``I went from pure disappointment to overjoyed.&#34;

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/1/203436