Students that are returning to the University of Wisconsin system of schools will be eligible to win a share of $500,000 in scholarships.

University of Wisconsin System President Tommy Thompson announced the new “70 for 70” incentive program, vaccinated students who attend universities that get to the 70% vaccination goal will be eligible for one of 70 scholarships that are worth $7,000 each. All universities, except UW-Madison who is doing their own incentive program, are participating in the campaign.

"We built a culture of responsibility last year among our students that helped us ‘Smash COVID!’” Thompson said, referencing the popular series of social media videos that showed him smashing things like pumpkins, plates, and cream puffs. “Wait til they see me ring our ’70 for 70’ high striker."

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All vaccinated students will need to notify their universities that they have gotten the vaccine, to be eligible all students must get the full vaccine by October 15th. While the UW System is encouraging and incentivizing students, they will not require students to be vaccinated to attend school this fall.

There are about 165,000 students in the UW System, and they say that the 70% number was picked based on estimates about the percentage of the population needed to reach herd immunity.

Earlier this month, the University of Wisconsin-Madison found in a survey of students that 92.5% of incoming dorm residents will be fully vaccinated by the time school starts, another 3% say they plan on getting the vaccine once on campus.

In the promotional video below for the "70 for 70" campaign, Thompson teams up with popular podcaster, creator, and comedian Charlie Berens to see who can smash COVID the best.

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