April 11, 2015

Florida Wins 2015 SEC MBA Case Competition

Florida won its third consecutive SEC MBA Case Competition on Saturday

By: Bryant Welbourne
SECU (Twitter: @TheSECU)

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of Florida took first place in the 2015 SEC MBA Case Competition held at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina on Saturday. The win is Florida’s third consecutive at the event.

“It is a great honor to be part of Warrington’s MBA program and a relief to uphold the tradition of winning this competition,” said David Price, a member of Florida’s team.

The Florida team was comprised of Price, Henry Liu, Matt Lukas and Elizabeth Merrick.

The University of Kentucky finished second in the final round, followed by the University of South Carolina and Louisiana State University.

A team of four MBA students from every SEC university was presented a business case centered on the sustainability of an African mining company on Friday morning. The teams, who were separated into four divisions, proposed their solutions to a panel of business executives on Saturday morning in divisional rounds. The top four proposals moved on to the final round that determined the winner of the competition.

Other awards given during the divisional rounds included Best Presenter and Best Q&A.

Brock Lambert from the University of Tennessee, Michael Peter from the University of South Carolina, John Rogers Garrett from the University of Alabama and Clayton Williams from Vanderbilt University were awarded the Best Presenter Award for their respective divisions.

The Best Q&A Award, based on their division, was given to Elizabeth Bostwick from Texas A&M University, Brock Lambert from the University of Tennessee, Sayre Phinney from Louisiana State University and Lauren Scanlon from the University of Kentucky.

“We were especially excited to have students focus on a case which challenged them to find a strategic solution to an endeavor which, framed in a global context, mirrors many of the challenges regional, national, and global organizations face today,” said Marcelo Frias, Managing Director of Full-Time MBA Programs at the Moore School of Business. “Doing so within the context of sustainability also creates a perfect platform for these groups of MBA students to exercise their strategic problem solving skills.”

The 2016 SEC MBA Case Competition will be held at the University of Arkansas.

A full list of winners from the 2015 SEC MBA Case Competition is below.

Final Team MBA Case Competition Results
First Place: University of Florida (Henry Liu, Matt Lukas, Elizabeth Merrick, David Price)
Second Place: University of Kentucky (James Davey, Jordan McMurtrey, Lauren Scanlon, Luke Williams)
Third Place: University of South Carolina (Autumn Maguire, Michael Peter, Talha Sheikh, Shawn Thuris)
Fourth Place: Louisiana State University (Parker Cramer, Steven Goyne, Sayre Phinney, Faisal Qayyum)

Best Presenter Award
Brock Lambert (University of Tennessee)
Michael Peter (University of South Carolina)
John Rogers Garrett (University of Alabama)
Clayton Williams (Vanderbilt University)

Best Q&A Award
Elizabeth Bostwick (Texas A&M University)
Brock Lambert (University of Tennessee)
Sayre Phinney (Louisiana State University)
Lauren Scanlon (University of Kentucky)