The McCombs National Women’s Case Competition began as an initiative to provide more opportunities for women to participate in a heavily male-dominated case competition space. Now, the McCombs National Women’s Case Competition is open to all students who wish to participate, regardless of gender identity.

Team Guidelines

1. The McCombs National Women’s Case Competition is open to undergraduate students only.

2. Teams may be comprised of 3-4 students.

• At least 2 students on each team must be enrolled in the business school/college at their home institution.

3. Seniors in accelerated master’s programs (accelerated MBA, MPA or MS programs) are not eligible to participate.

4. Each university is only allowed to send one team to participate in the competition.

• Priority will be given to the first team from each university that registers and meets all requirements/guidelines.

5. Each team may have a faculty/staff advisor coach them on addressing their case and developing their presentation prior to the case submission deadline. 

• Faculty/staff advisors cannot contribute to the case solutions or development in any way; however, advisors are allowed to assist with contextual questions and provide feedback on the presentation format and delivery.

Thanks to the generous support from our sponsor, Apple, the National Women’s Case Competition is able to provide the following cash prizes to the first, second, and third place teams:

Review our tips for success if you’re planning to participate in the National Women’s Case Competition.

1. Leverage the strengths of your team members. All of your team members will have different strengths that will contribute to your success in this competition. Utilize yours and your team members’ individual strengths to get the most out of your case presentation.

2. Manage your time effectively. You will receive the case for the competition and have a specific timeline to analyze and draft your presentation before the competition date. Effective time management will ensure that your case is completed in a timely manner.

3. Communicate with confidence and maintain eye contact. Participants will present to industry professionals and should be sure to communicate with confidence and maintain eye contact as you would with a professional presentation to a client, supervisor, or colleague.

4. Understand the case and ask questions at the employer check-in. An understanding of the case Is important for a successful presentation. Be sure to utilize the employer check-in to ask any/all questions you have about the case to better understand and strategize how you and your team will construct an analysis.

5. Include qualitative and quantitative aspects in your final recommendations. Your case will contain multifaceted, real-world industry issues; therefore, your recommendations should also be multifaceted in contrast. This means that your team will need to share both qualitative and quantitative data/insights in your final recommendations to capture the full scope of case issues.

6. Set aside time to rehearse your presentation. In order to communicate with confidence, you must also be confident in your presentation materials. Be sure to rehearse your presentation with your team so you’re all comfortable with the flow and material.

7. Be prepared for questions from the judging panel. There will be a section of your presentation reserved for questions from the judges. Be sure to have additional information ready to answer their questions and provide supplemental information.