Not all Big 12 competitions happen on the field, diamond or court.

For the first time in the nine-year history of the Big 12 MBA Case Competition, all 10 Big 12 universities competed. And for the first time, the MBA student team from the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics left the competition with a win. A big, Big 12 win.

The competition was hosted this year on March 28 by Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business in Fort Worth, Texas, and was sponsored by Deloitte. Steve Pace, associate commissioner and CFO of the Big 12 Conference, and John Levis, global innovation leader of Deloitte were in attendance. Judges included individuals from Deloitte, Sabre, Alcon, Bell Helicopter, BNSF Railway, Half Price Books, Frito-Lay, Michael’s, Radio Shack, Santander USA and the TCU Board of Trustees.

The team of MBA students from WVU included Christina Burke Cudney of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania; Ed Chambers of Morgantown, West Virginia; Nicole Sangid of Charleston, West Virginia; and William Espanol of Fairmont, West Virginia. The students were accompanied by team coach Dr. Jeffrey Houghton, associate professor of management and industrial relations, and Dr. Elizabeth Vitullo, assistant dean of Graduate Programs.

“To see our students be so prepared, do so well and be so impressive in that competition, it does great things for our reputation,” Houghton said. “They were brilliant – their analysis and solution to the case was outstanding.”

The competition centered on Apple Pay™ and the future of mobile payments, presented by Deloitte. The 10 MBA teams received the case Friday morning; each team took part in a private Q&A with Deloitte representatives and then made their presentation to judges on Saturday. Participating schools included: Baylor University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University, Texas Christian University, University of Kansas, University of Oklahoma, University of Texas at Austin and WVU.

“Competing in a case competition requires efficient research skills, strong business acumen, innovative thinking, collaborative teamwork and, most importantly, the confidence to clearly articulate your ideas in a persuasive manner to business executives,” said Cudney. “We have had the opportunity to build on each of these invaluable skills throughout the year as we practiced and prepared for this competition, and all of our hard work paid off.

“It is a huge success for WVU and for the College of Business and Economics, and we could have never won the competition if it weren’t for the superb preparation we received from the faculty both in and out of the classroom, all of the support from the MBA Advisory Board and the investment that the University makes in providing high-quality experiential learning opportunities for its students.”

The final standings at the end of the competition were Iowa State University in third place with a $1,000 prize; Texas Christian University in second place with a $3,000 prize; and WVU taking first place and a $5,000 prize.

“This is a fantastic win for West Virginia University, the College of Business and Economics, and the MBA team,” said Jose “Zito” Sartarelli, Milan Puskar Dean. “It’s a reflection of the commitment we have made to take the MBA program to the next level. Part of that commitment has been to do things like raise our average GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) score from 537 five years to 617 today, and to provide excellent experiential learning like the Big 12 MBA Case Competition. This team is to be highly commended for winning in a very tough field of competitors, and we are elated.”

“Everyone who attended the competition watched our final presentation and saw firsthand what Mountaineers are capable of,” Cudney said.

For more information about the Big 12 Case Competition, click here. For further information on the WVU College of Business and Economics, please visit be.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

mm/03/31/15

CONTACT: Patrick Gregg, WVU College of Business and Economics
304.293.5131; patrick.gregg@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.