After a landslide win in a national vote, Dierks High School was announced as the winner of a $1 million makeover for its football stadium in T-Mobile’s “Friday Night 5G Lights” contest, the telecommunications company announced Thursday morning.
The Howard County School, which has an enrollment of around 250 students, won out of 2,100 schools across the country, according to T-Mobile. And the vote wasn’t close.
Dierks finished with 1,988,665 votes, more than 500,000 votes ahead of the second-place finisher, Lebanon, Ore., which received 1,457,848 votes.
The Arkansas school had already won $25,000 for making the final 25 on the strength of its application essay.
As this year’s grand prize winner, Dierks will receive a major stadium transformation valued at $1 million along with a Gronk Fitness weight room renovation, consultation with stadium experience experts, an all-expenses-paid trip to the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 6 for 16 school representatives and a tailgate party revealing the finalized upgrades in 2026 — all designed to give the Outlaws’ home field a high-tech glow to match their grit, the T-Mobile release said.
“The Outlaws brought their A-game and hustled their way to the top with their unbelievable determination and passion these past few weeks,” said Rob Gronkowski, four-time Super Bowl Champion and Friday Night 5G Lights ambassador. “They showed up big time and now they’ll have the stadium they deserve.”
