After a Tornado Destroyed Its Stadium, Wisconsin's Menasha High School Wins T-Mobile's $1 Million Grand Prize
T-Mobile announced in Bellevue, Washington, on November 12 that Menasha High School in Menasha, Wisconsin, has won this year's Friday Night 5G Lights competition and its $1 million grand prize. The competition began with more than 2,400 applications, narrowed to 40 division finalists and four division champions, and drew more than 3.2 million votes; Menasha earned 390,517 votes in the final round.
Counting the $250,000 it won as Midwest Division Champion, a Gronk Fitness gym upgrade valued at $90,000, a $5,000 student leadership award and $25,000 as a division finalist, Menasha's total winnings reach $1.37 million. The $1 million grand prize will go toward a football field makeover, with a celebration planned for December and the upgrades to be unveiled during the 2027 football season. On July 27, a severe tornado tore through Menasha and badly damaged the school's Calder Stadium, forcing the team to play its home games elsewhere.
T-Mobile said the third year of the program provided more than $8.4 million in total prizes: 1,000 schools were awarded $5,000 through 5K Fridays, 40 division finalists earned $25,000 each, and the four division champions took home a combined $1 million. Menasha joins Oklahoma's Inola High School (2024) and Arkansas's Dierks High School (2025) as one of only three schools to claim the grand prize, and registration is already open for next year's competition.
Source: T-Mobile
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：威斯康星州 Menasha 高中校舍。Arnmhs 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Menasha High School in Wisconsin. Photo by Arnmhs, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
