A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity awaits Creed King, a first-year veterinary student at Iowa State University.
And no, we’re not talking about the challenge of becoming a veterinarian.
King is one of three finalists for the Dr. Pepper Tuition Challenge. You may have seen the competition highlighted during football conference championships and bowl games where college students see who can throw the most footballs into the opening of a giant Dr. Pepper can within 30 seconds.
The Iowa State vet student will compete at the SEC Championship held in Atlanta in early December.
“Every year since I have been an undergraduate, I have submitted a video to the Dr. Pepper Tuition Challenge,” King said. “This is the first year I was selected and the last that I am eligible to participate.”
By becoming a finalist, King is already guaranteed a $2,500 scholarship and a trip to the SEC Championship Game. She will compete Friday against two other finalists with the top two advancing to the finals where the winner receives $100,000, with the runner-up receiving $20,000.
“I love to compete, but I am nervous about doing it in front of so many people,” King said. “But if I win, the money will literally save me $100,000 in student loans.”
King has been practicing with similar cans that are utilized during Iowa State Cyclone football home games. She’s being coached by Dr. Dan Grooms, the Dr. Stephen G. Juelsgaard Dean of Veterinary Medicine and a former college quarterback at Cornell University in New York.
During the competition, King will be five yards away from the Dr. Pepper can, which is 9 feet tall with a two-foot diameter hole. And while golf was her sport growing up in Florida, she is familiar with football.
“My parents graduated from the University of Alabama and our family is passionate about Bama football,” she said. “My oldest sister worked for the football team at the University of Texas and is now the director of recruiting for football at Appalachian State University.”
King’s academic career has taken her from her undergraduate studies at Mississippi State University to a master’s degree at the University of Georgia before starting vet school at Iowa State this fall.
Now she hopes to add another line to her resume as the Dr. Pepper Tuition Challenge champion.
“This experience has added some fun to my schedule that has been crammed with studying and exams,” she said.
November 2025
