2026 University of Kansas National Multidisciplinary Case Competition
Bring your best to KU.
The KU School of Business will host a two-day event designed to challenge and showcase top undergraduate talent from across the U.S. Join us March 5–6, 2026, at Capitol Federal Hall.
Register your universityAdvised by leading consulting prep agency Management Consulted, the KU National Multidisciplinary Case Competition welcomes undergraduate students from all majors and class levels. No prior experience is required, and interdisciplinary teams are highly encouraged.
If this is your institution’s first time competing, we are happy to help you identify strong candidates. Last year's teams included both seasoned competitors and first-time participants with impressive results across the board.
Event details
March 5–6
Capitol Federal Hall
University of Kansas School of Business
Lawrence, Kansas
Prepare to participate
- Cash prizes awarded to top-performing teams
- Schools may bring up to two teams of four undergraduate students, space permitting
- Teams may include undergraduate students of all disciplines.
- No graduate/professional students or duplicate team members
- One optional advisor allowed (logistical support only; no coaching)
- All participants must attend in person.
- Team/individual registration — no need to have teams selected to register your institution
- All registration and workshop fees are covered (schools only cover travel)
- Additional event details available on the registration form
Accommodations
A block of hotel rooms is available for competition participants. Teams and advisors are encouraged to book early, with a deadline of Feb. 5, 2026.
SpringHill Suites by Marriott Lawrence Downtown
1 Riverfront Plaza, Lawrence, Kansas, 66044
Key pre-event dates
- Feb. 21, 2026: Optional pre-event workshop “How to Win a Case Competition” led by Management Consulted
- Feb. 27, 2026: Deadline to submit institutional registration
- First 24 schools guaranteed entry; additional schools placed on a waitlist
- Availability will be confirmed during the registration process.
- First 24 schools guaranteed entry; additional schools placed on a waitlist
- Feb. 27, 2026: Final team rosters due
- 1st place: $2,000
- 2nd place: $1,500
- 3rd place: $1,000
- 4th place: $750
- 5th place: $500
- Most innovative: $250
- Best presentation: $250
Competition guidelines and expectations
- Format: All teams must submit a PowerPoint presentation (.ppt/.pptx only). Other formats (e.g., Prezi, Keynote) are not accepted.
- File name format: [Team Number]
- Submission: Upload your deck to a designated Dropbox folder by 11 a.m. March 6; no changes are allowed after submission.
- Limit: Maximum of 7 slides that should include these elements in this order (but with unique, insight-oriented taglines):
- Cover Slide
- Executive Summary
- Market Analysis
- Customer Analysis
- Competitive Analysis
- Company Capabilities
- Next Steps
- Timing:
- First- and second- round presentations are 20 minutes per team (10 min. presentation, 4 min. Q&A, 3 min. feedback, 3 min. transition).
- Moderators will signal when and 1 minute remains.
- Conduct:
- Teams must remain in the designated waiting area until called to present.
- No further research or discussion of the case is allowed once presentations begin.
- Audience members may not communicate with presenting teams; violations will result in disqualification.
Judging:
- Judges are professionals from the local business community, representing diverse industries.
- Judges are not affiliated with KU or any participating teams.
- All judges receive the same evaluation criteria and case materials.
- Judging panels are randomly assigned and consist of at least two judges.
- Teams are evaluated using a standardized scoring rubric.
Scoring — 70 points available
- Executive summary: 10 points
- Market analysis: 10 points
- Customer analysis: 10 points
- Competitive landscape: 10 points
- Company capabilities: 10 points
- Presentation delivery: 10 points
- Next steps: 10 points
- No outside assistance, coaching, or collaboration allowed. Any interference by outside parties will result in disqualification from the competition.
- Teams must remain anonymous (no school- or home city- identifying clothing).
- Business professional attire is required.
- Use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, DALL·E) is allowed only with proper citation; using AI to generate the solution is prohibited.
- Violations (e.g., plagiarism, copying past solutions, disruptive behavior, late submissions) may result in disqualification and possible future participation bans.
- All decisions by the Case Competition Committee and judges are final.
Participation implies agreement to all rules and conduct expectations.
Sponsor and organizer decisions are final. The decision of the judges will be final and binding in all instances.
- Format: All teams must submit a PowerPoint presentation (.ppt/.pptx only). Other formats (e.g., Prezi, Keynote) are not accepted.
- File name format: [Team Number]
- Submission: Upload your deck to a designated Dropbox folder by 11 a.m. March 6; no changes are allowed after submission.
- Limit: Maximum of 7 slides that should include these elements in this order (but with unique, insight-oriented taglines):
- Cover Slide
- Executive Summary
- Market Analysis
- Customer Analysis
- Competitive Analysis
- Company Capabilities
- Next Steps
- Timing:
- First- and second- round presentations are 20 minutes per team (10 min. presentation, 4 min. Q&A, 3 min. feedback, 3 min. transition).
- Moderators will signal when and 1 minute remains.
- Conduct:
- Teams must remain in the designated waiting area until called to present.
- No further research or discussion of the case is allowed once presentations begin.
- Audience members may not communicate with presenting teams; violations will result in disqualification.
Judging:
- Judges are professionals from the local business community, representing diverse industries.
- Judges are not affiliated with KU or any participating teams.
- All judges receive the same evaluation criteria and case materials.
- Judging panels are randomly assigned and consist of at least two judges.
- Teams are evaluated using a standardized scoring rubric.
Scoring — 70 points available
- Executive summary: 10 points
- Market analysis: 10 points
- Customer analysis: 10 points
- Competitive landscape: 10 points
- Company capabilities: 10 points
- Presentation delivery: 10 points
- Next steps: 10 points
- No outside assistance, coaching, or collaboration allowed. Any interference by outside parties will result in disqualification from the competition.
- Teams must remain anonymous (no school- or home city- identifying clothing).
- Business professional attire is required.
- Use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, DALL·E) is allowed only with proper citation; using AI to generate the solution is prohibited.
- Violations (e.g., plagiarism, copying past solutions, disruptive behavior, late submissions) may result in disqualification and possible future participation bans.
- All decisions by the Case Competition Committee and judges are final.
Participation implies agreement to all rules and conduct expectations.
Sponsor and organizer decisions are final. The decision of the judges will be final and binding in all instances.