MBA Team Takes on Big XII and Wins

We may be new to the conference, but we’re not new to some healthy competition. In their first Big XII showdown, TCU MBAs proved that they can take the pressure and come out on top when they competed in the Big XII MBA Case Competition hosted by the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.

TCU’s four-person team of MBA students Jared Smith, Jack Smothers, Michele Machado and Nishant Maller placed third out of the nine teams competing – Baylor, Iowa State, University of Kansas, Kansas State, University of Missouri, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech. The TCU MBA team won $1,200. OSU won $2,000 for first place, and OU placed second for $1,600.

“It was a great honor to be selected to represent TCU at our first Big XII Case Competition,” Nishant said. “Entering as the underdog and walking away with third place is a great feeling and is proof that Neeley MBAs have what it takes to hold our own against bigger schools.”

The nine teams were required to analyze a real-world case problem provided by ISN Software Corporation based in Dallas. The MBA students received the case on the first day of the competition, then had 24 hours to assess the problem, research solutions and write a concept proposal. Each team presented its strategy to a panel of judges composed of business executives and industry leaders. Judges in all rounds of the competition were unaware of which students were from which school throughout the competition.  

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 that evening.