Here's what you need to know

Registration and payment process

  • All teams will be asked to pre-register. Pre-registration is a way for all schools to have an equal opportunity to pull together a team of students to participate in the case competition.
  • Pre-registration does not guarantee participation in the competition, instead it tells us you are interested in being considered for selection.
  • At least 1 team member needs to be identified during pre-registration process.   
  • During pre-registration, teams will be asked to provide school name, location, and contact information.
  • Teams will be selected to create a competition filled with diverse representation of schools (large, small, private, public, different regions of the world)
  • If selected, teams will be asked for $200 payment and roster information.  
  • Student teams will be notified starting February 12th if they are invited to participate in the case competition.
  • Invited teams will have two weeks to accept the invitation and provide the registration payment.
  • If selected, final team roster is due March 4. 
  • Refund policy:  If a selected team registers for the competition, but is no longer able to attend, a full refund will be allowed until Friday, March 8th. Refund requests need to be in writing. 

Eligibility & teams

  • Maximum of 16 teams allowed.
  • Only 1 team per school may participate in the competition.
  • Teams of 3-4 graduate-level students only. PhD students are not allowed.
  • Final team rosters due March 4.
  • Teams are not allowed to adjust members after seeing the case.

Case

  • The case will be distributed two weeks prior to the submission deadline.
  • All case information, materials, communication, and submissions will be managed using a centralized site. Team members will be granted access to the site and are expected to utilize the site for the duration of the competition.  
  • Once the case is distributed, teams cannot solicit assistance from anyone who is not on the team (including staff, faculty, other students, or the sponsoring organization). All work presented must be solely that of the participating team members. Outside research is allowed (e.g. written, online).
  • After the case is distributed, teams will be given a one-time opportunity to ask questions. All questions must be received by the designated timeframe, as listed. The case sponsor and case officials will review questions and post responses.
  • For data analysis, teams are free to choose the software they utilize.

Presentation

  • Presentation slides must be formatted using Microsoft PowerPoint or Adobe PDF and be PC-compatible.
  • The first or second slide of the presentation should list your assigned team number, as well as photos and names of team members. Do not put your school name or logo on any material and do not identify your affiliation to the judges prior to or during the presentation. A student's school affiliation should remain anonymous. Failure to comply with this rule will result in disqualification.
  • Presentations should be no longer than 15 minutes. During the judging process, presentations will be stopped at 15 minutes.
  • Each member of the team is required to present, although the amount of time per speaker may vary.
  • Presentations must be turned in by 8:00 a.m. Central time on Thursday, April 4, 2024. You will not be permitted to make changes to your slides after this submission deadline.
  • Final round presentations are open to all non-advancing teams and to the public.

Judging

  • The judges panel will be comprised of experts from the data case sponsor and other analytics leaders from various industries.
  • The judges will act as a group of top managers and/or directors. The judges are familiar with the data analytics space and the problems identified in the case. Therefore, the case facts do not need to be repeated. Define and analyze the problem and present a justified plan of action with recommendations.
  • A judging rubric will be used when scoring presentations.

Prizes

1st place - $5000

2nd place - $3500

3rd place - $1500

Travel - Airport, Hotel, Transportation

Teams are responsible for their own travel and hotel accommodations. A group rate has been secured for hotel rooms with more information coming soon. The competition will provide light meals on Thursday night and all day on Friday (breakfast, lunch, early dinner appetizers). 

AIRPORTS

  • Eastern Iowa Airport (CID): The closest airport is the Eastern Iowa Airport (code CID), which is about 20 minutes from Iowa City. While it tends to be slightly more expensive than other larger airports in the Midwest, it is by far the easiest logistically for getting to campus.
  • Quad City International Airport (MLI): located about 1 ½ hours away in Moline, IL
  • Des Moines International Airport (DSM): located about 2 hours from campus in Des Moines, IA
  • O’Hare International Airport (ORD): located about 4 hours from campus in Chicago
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP): located also about 4 hours away in Minneapolis.

HOTEL

  • We have secured a fantastic rate of $99/night +taxes at The Graduate Iowa City .  This hotel is walking distance to all events for the competition. We expect teams will need a room for Thursday night and most likely Friday night.  The CID airport is a smaller regional location, therefore there won’t be a lot of flight options later in the night (after the competition is over).  See email and case competition site for reservation link.

Releases

The data case sponsor (Sponsor) and the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business (Organizer) are not responsible for incorrect contact information or inconsumable entries that do not meet submission criteria. All decisions of Sponsor/Organizer are final.

By participating in the Iowa Graduate Business Analytics Case Competition, teams (i) agree to be bound by the official competition rules, (ii) agree that the Sponsor and Organizer may use individual team members’ name and likeness for the purpose of promoting and publicizing this and future competitions, (iii) agree that their presentation and any subsequent material submissions may be used by both Sponsor and Organizer.

2024 Competition timeline

(All times Central Standard Time)

Wed., January 8–Fri., February 9 Team pre-registration 
Starting Mon., February 12 Selected teams are invited to complete registration and payment
Wed. March 6, 12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Case Competition launch call/zoom meeting
Thur. March 21, 8:00 a.m. Case launch—all materials delivered to teams
Sun. March 24, 8:00 a.m. Team questions regarding case due
Tue. March 26 (afternoon) Team questions answered and posted
Thur. April 4, 8:00 a.m. Presentation slides due
Thur. Apr 4, 6:00 - 8:00 pm Team welcome event
Fri. April 5, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Case competition day
Fri. April 5, 8:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Preliminary round presentations. Each team will be assigned a 30 min time slot
Fri. April 5, 1:00 p.m.– 3:00 p.m. Final round presentations - Viewing of final round is open to all
Fri. April 5, 3:45 p.m. Final round winners announced
Fri. April 5, 3:45 p.m.– 5:00 p.m. Networking with judges and post-competition celebration

 

Contact us

Have questions about the competition? Need to connect with the organizer? Reach out today.

Kristine Arens

Kristine A. Arens

Professional Director, M.S. Business Analytics, and Lecturer
1-319-335-0892
Iowa-BACC@uiowa.edu