Two days after hitting the biggest kick of his life, Bret Culbertson was greeted in his Monday-morning Law of Mass Communication class with a surprise by associate professor of journalism and communication Barbara Mack – a cake.

The cake, which read “Well done Bret,” was purchased by Mack after she was brought to tears while watching her student hit the game-winning kick.

“It’s fun to celebrate the achievement of somebody who is truly a student as well as a student-athlete,” Mack said. “I think Bret is a great example of somebody who is a student-athlete in the best sense of the word, because student comes first.”

Culbertson, who tied a school record with five field goals in a game, including the game winner with one second remaining against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, spent the next day enjoying the biggest kick of his career.

“The last 24 hours have been pretty great,” Culbertson said. “For me, it’s kind of been a big payoff.”

The payoff came in the form of five field goals from distances of 21, 33, 32, 40 and 28 yards, good enough for Culbertson to be named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week. Culbertson’s career had been defined mostly by misses against Missouri in 2004 and Kansas in 2005, which kept Iowa State out of the Big 12 Championship game. Now, he has a new legacy.

“I told him after the game, ‘You’re not going to be remembered as a guy who didn’t make kicks, you’re not going to be remembered as Shaggy; you’re going to be remembered as the guy that nailed the game winner to beat Iowa when no one thought you could,'” said special teams coach Jay Boulware.

What Culbertson did was spend the majority of the night before the game visualizing making field goals – 10 at time, something recommended by Boulware.

“I had envisioned it in my mind, but honestly, I had no idea if it would happen or not,” Culbertson said.

When it did happen, Culbertson was carried off the field by Cyclone fans for the first time in his career. He later spent the night with family and friends.

After spending the night fielding calls, the senior kicker decided to turn off his phone. He did get a chance to hear a message from the first person who called him after the game, former ISU coach Dan McCarney.

“He just said he was proud,” Culbertson said. “He’s been there for me since my first year. He was just proud.”

While Culbertson brought cries from his teacher and pride from his old coach, the kicker said he got the most joy out of seeing the reaction from his family after the game.

“They were just proud,” Culbertson said. “A lot of them were honestly just there in tears. It was awesome just to see their reactions.”