KU Professional Selling Program/King’s Hawaiian Sales Competition

Overview

The KU Professional Selling Program/King’s Hawaiian Sales Competition will be hosted by the KU School of Business on April 10-11, 2026, which will be held on campus in Lawrence, Kansas. We offer generous prize money and a $1,000 travel stipend per university — no registration fee.

Sponsored exclusively by King’s Hawaiian, the competition is open to all universities, with four undergraduate students and one sales coach representing each university.

Teams that register during this time will receive a special early-bird registration package sent to you directly from King’s Hawaiian.

Sponsored and judged exclusively by King’s Hawaiian, the competition is open to all universities, with four undergraduate students and one sales coach representing each university. Components of the competition include:

Individual Speed Selling Round: Two-minute elevator pitch to get King’s Hawaiian a meeting with a potential grocery store chain buyer
Team Case Competition: Three-round tournament-style case competition on a real-life business situation for King’s Hawaiian
- Round 1: Uncover additional information to make solid recommendations
- Round 2: Present recommendations via formal presentation
- Round 3: Finals

Please send all questions to Kristen Helling at khelling@ku.edu.

Sponsored by King’s Hawaiian

Stipends and prizes

The following cash stipends and prizes will be provided.

Travel stipend for each university:

$1,000 per university

Cash prizes for Individual Speed Selling Round:

1st place — $600
2nd place — $500
3rd place — $400
4th place — $300
5th place — $200
6th place — $100

Cash prizes for each winning Team Case Competition:

1st place — $4,000
2nd place — $3,000
3rd place — $2,000

The fifth KU Professional Selling Program/King’s Hawaiian Sales Competition was hosted at the KU School of Business Friday, April 4, and Saturday, April 5, 2025.

Competition materials

Case Competition
Case Competition assets
Case Competition cover letter
Case Competition judging rubric
Holiday sales plan calculator (will need to download and open in Excel)
Speed Selling overview
Speed Selling one pager
Speed Selling judging rubric
Detailed agenda

All case materials are fictional and proprietary of Irresistible Foods Group.

Stipends and prizes

The following cash stipends and prizes will be provided.

Travel stipend for each university:

$1,000 per university

Cash prizes for Individual Speed Selling Round:

1st place — $600
2nd place — $500
3rd place — $400
4th place — $300
5th place — $200
6th place — $100

Cash prizes for each winning Team Case Competition:

1st place — $4,000
2nd place — $3,000
3rd place — $2,000

Participating schools

Ball State University
Boise State University
Colorado State University
Texas Tech University
University of Arizona
University of Central Missouri
University of Georgia
University of Iowa
University of Kansas
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
University of North Dakota
University of Texas at Austin
University of Wyoming

The fourth KU Professional Selling Program/King’s Hawaiian Sales Competition was hosted at the KU School of Business Friday, April 5, and Saturday, April 6, 2024.

Competition materials

Stipends and prizes

The following cash stipends and prizes will be provided.

Travel stipend for each university:

$1,000 per university

Cash prizes for Individual Speed Selling Round:

1st place — $600
2nd place — $500
3rd place — $400
4th place — $300
5th place — $200
6th place — $100

Cash prizes for each winning Team Case Competition:

1st place — $4,000
2nd place — $3,000
3rd place — $2,000

Participating schools

Indiana State University
Marshall University
Texas Tech University
University of Arizona
University of Central Missouri
University of Georgia
University of Iowa
University of Kansas
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
University of Nebraska
University of North Dakota
University of Wyoming

The third KU Professional Selling Program/King’s Hawaiian Sales Competition was hosted at the KU School of Business Friday, March 24, and Saturday, March 25, 2023.

Competition materials

Stipends and prizes

The following cash stipends and prizes will be provided.

Travel stipend for each university:

$1,000 per university

Cash prizes for Individual Speed Selling Round:

1st place — $600
2nd place — $500
3rd place — $400
4th place — $300
5th place — $200
6th place — $100

Cash prizes for each winning Team Case Competition:

1st place — $4,000
2nd place — $3,000
3rd place — $2,000

Participating schools

Emory University
Morehouse College
Oklahoma State University
Texas Tech University
University of Arizona
University of Central Missouri
University of Iowa
University of Kansas
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
University of North Dakota

The second KU Professional Selling Program/King’s Hawaiian Sales Competition was hosted at the KU School of Business Friday, April 8, and Saturday, April 9, 2022.

Competition winners

Speed selling

First place (tie): Hannah Besedin, University of Arizona ($300); and Thanh Tan Nguyen, KU ($300)
Third place: Brenna McCarthy, University of Minnesota ($100)

Case study

First place: University of Central Missouri (Watch the presentation)
Second place: University of Nebraska (Watch the presentation)
Third place: KU (Watch the presentation)

Competition materials

Participating schools

University of Arizona
University of Central Missouri
Emory University
University of Iowa
University of Kansas
Kansas State University
Loyola Marymount University
Marshall University
University of Minnesota
University of Nebraska
University of North Dakota
Texas Tech University

The first KU Professional Selling Program/King’s Hawaiian Sales Competition was hosted virtually by the KU School of Business Friday, April 9, and Saturday, April 10, 2021.