Ryan Kovacik, a VCU student from Glen Allen, is one of five finalists selected by Dr Pepper to compete for $100,000 in tuition money prior to the SEC football championship game Dec. 1 in Atlanta. Kovacik submitted his video to DrPepper.com explaining why he deserved to win college tuition from the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway.

“Dr Pepper is a longtime supporter of college football, and we are proud to have helped so many students reach their dreams by removing the burden of tuition through the annual Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway,” said Leslie Vesper, director of brand marketing for Dr Pepper. “Once again this football season, we’re giving away more than $1 million in tuition to help make paying for school a little easier, and we’re very pleased that the Cowboys Classic is now part of the program.”

Kovacik was selected by a panel of judges on the strength of his video submission. Entries were judged on a range of criteria, such as the inclusion of Dr Pepper, a description of how the tuition money and a college education will help the student make an impact in the world, and overall presentation quality. Kovacik’s winning video can be viewed at http://bit.ly/PQeG1Q.

The five finalists first competed in a preliminary contest Nov. 30, and Kovacik was among two winners who advanced to the finals, which will air on ABC during the game. For each of the events, finalists will throw footballs from five yards away into a two-foot hole in an over-sized Dr Pepper can replica. The fan who successfully completes the most throws in 30 seconds will win the grand prize of $100,000 in college tuition. The runner-up will take home a $23,000 tuition prize, and the three contestants who did not advance from the preliminary throw will receive $2,500 in tuition.

Dr Pepper is giving away grand prizes during halftime of four conference championship games later in the year, including the Dr Pepper ACC Championship, the Pac-12 Championship, the Big Ten Championship and the SEC Championship. The brand also gave away a grand prize scholarship during the Cowboys Classic on Sept. 1.

There is still a chance for consumers 18 and older to enter to win a $2,500 tuition prize through the program by submitting videos at DrPepper.com by Dec. 31. In addition to the video submissions, Dr Pepper will also be giving away tuition through a number of retailer specific promotions.