The Rules and Process

Rules for the Case Competition

Teams

  • Open to teams from any AACSB accredited MBA program in the U.S. and Canada.
  • A maximum of two teams per MBA program.
  • Teams may consist of four or five members.
  • At least three members on each team must be an MBA student.
  • No substitutions of players are allowed after the registration deadline.
  • Registration will begin on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 and ends on Friday, September 15, 2017 by 4:00 p.m. EST. 

 

Fees

  • There is a $100 USD registration fee per team.
  • Payment is not required at time of registration but will be due prior to Tuesday, September 19, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. EST.

 

The Process

Round One

  • The case will be available to registered MBA teams on Wednesday, September 20th, 2017.
  • The preliminary round will consist of electronic submissions of case analyses by Monday, October 2, 2017 by noon, 12:00 EST.

  • A panel of judges will select five teams to be finalists and announce the results on Monday, October 23, 2017. 

Submission Criteria

   1. PowerPoint summary of the case analysis

            a.  Maximum of ten slides

            b.  Presentation font must be a reasonable font size

            c.  No identifying information (school or individual); including document names

    2. One-page Executive Summary 

            a.  Single spacing

            b.  Must use 1/2" to 1" margins

            c.  Text size: no smaller than 11 point

            d.  No identifying information (school or individual); including document names

Round Two

  • Five Teams will travel to University Park, PA for the final round held on November 30, 2017 - December 1, 2017.  Smeal College will cover expenses for lodging meals while finalists are on campus.  Finalists will be responsible for their own travel expenses.
  • Finalists may use any audio-visual medium (including but not limited to PowerPoint slides) to supplement their oral presentation.
  • Teams will make their presentations to a panel of judges.
  • Teams will compete for first ($10,000), second ($5,000) and third place ($2,500) prizes.