OSU Wins Big 12 MBA Case Competition

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Oklahoma State University captured first place in the sixth annual Big 12 MBA Case Competition hosted by the Spears School of Business this past weekend. The first-place victory by Oklahoma State was its third in the six years of the MBA Case Competition.

OSU's four-person team of MBA students Julena Bonner, Chad Dayton, Wayne Harber and Clint Miller placed first out of the nine teams competing – Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma, OSU, Texas Tech and Big 12 Conference newcomer Texas Christian University. The OSU team won the first-place trophy and $2,000 prize money. The University of Oklahoma placed second and won $1,600, and TCU was third and received $1,200.

In addition, OSU student Clint Miller was selected as the best presenter and MVP during the two-day event and the Oklahoma State team received the sportsmanship award as voted on by the other competitors.

"It was an honor to be selected for this competition and I am truly proud of what our team was able to accomplish," Miller said. "We were asked to put together a solid business recommendation in a short, 24-hour period. The situation was stressful, but our team worked hard and stuck to a strategy that we felt would differ from our opponents. The decision paid off. I am even more proud that we could showcase OSU and the MBA program."

It was the first time for the Spears School to host the competition.

"We were really excited to be hosting the Big 12 MBA Case Competition but it became extra special when our team was able to rise to the top and win the competition," said Jan Analla, OSU's MBA Case team adviser and assistant director of graduate programs for the Spears School. "We are proud of the hard work and dedication of Julena, Chad, Wayne and Clint. They did an excellent job."

The nine teams were required to analyze a real-world case problem provided by ISN Software Corporation in Dallas. The teams were asked to assess the problem, research possible solutions, write a concept proposal and give a presentation on their findings and recommendations – all within 24 hours of receiving the case on Friday morning. Each team then presented its strategy to a panel of judges, composed of business executives and industry leaders.

The field was narrowed to the top three teams following the preliminary round of competition, and those three presented their proposal during the final round. The winners were announced during a banquet on Saturday night at the Wes Watkins Center on the Stillwater campus.

Judges in all rounds of the competition did not know which schools were presenting at that time to eliminate any bias. Presenters were not allowed to wear clothing with logos from their schools and were penalized if they mentioned which school they represented or their hometown.

"We couldn't be happier for the four members of the team representing OSU and the Spears School of Business," said Dean Larry Crosby. "It's a great accomplishment against some of the best MBA students from other Big 12 schools. It's an indication of the quality of the education that our MBA students are receiving at Oklahoma State University, and shows that they stack up against other MBA students throughout the Big 12. It's a great accomplishment for the MBA students, and we are very proud of each of them."