UA Sponsors Annual High School Business Plan Competition

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – High school students throughout Alabama are encouraged to participate in the second annual Capstone High School Business Plan Competition, sponsored by The Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration.

Teams will compete for a total of $5,000 in scholarships to attend The University of Alabama. The first place team will receive $2,500, second place $1,500, and third place $1,000.

This competition is designed to give high school students experience in recognizing profitable opportunities and developing business plans to capitalize on these opportunities. Student teams can consist of one to three members. Each team member should be a junior or senior enrolled in a public or private school or have equivalent standing in a home-schooling program.

The competition will occur in two rounds. In the first round, all teams will submit a one-to-three page, single-spaced mini-plan by 5 p.m. March 13. The plan should consist of a discussion of the business idea and include a brief description of the business, where it is/would be located, what it would sell or what service it would provide, a discussion of who would buy the product or service, a justification for why customers would want to purchase the business’ products and/or services and why the students on the team are the right people to make this business successful.

Judges will choose up to eight plans from the first round submissions to move into the second round. These eight teams will submit a 10-page business plan by Monday, March 30. These teams will attend the final round on April 6. There, each team will present a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation and submit a 10-page business plan. The competition will be from 10-2 p.m. at The University of Alabama in Alston Hall, room 40. Winners will be announced at an afternoon luncheon that day which will feature a special guest speaker.

There is no limit to the number of teams that any one school can enter into the competition.

The plans should be submitted on younoodle.com to Dr. Louis Marino, associate professor of entrepreneurship and strategy.

For additional information, visit the Web site at http://cba.ua.edu/einstitute/hscomp or contact Marino, 205/348-8946 or via e-mail: lmarino@cba.ua.ed

The Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration was established in 1919, and, in 1929, it became the 38th school to earn admission into the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business. The excellence of the UA business school has been acknowledged on a national level. The undergraduate program is ranked 29th among public universities by U.S. News, and the Culverhouse School of Accountancy is ranked 15th among public universities by U.S. News. The graduate accounting program is ranked 15th, and the undergraduate program 14th, by Public Accounting Report. The entrepreneurship program is ranked 20th nationally.