The College of Business Administration placed second at the prominent National Black MBA Association Case Competition in Washington, D.C. last month. 

UT's team of full-time MBA students Alicia Cottrell, Martin Vargas and James Walker won $12,000 total in scholarship money for beating 28 other teams from around the country at the annual competition.

Cottrell, Vargas and Walker were chosen based on their resume, experience and different strengths on the team.

Cottrell said, "I think our team symbolizes that diversity is valuable when all our differences can be leveraged to provide a unique insight to problem solving. Being diverse is not just about doing what is right, but it is about recognizing that this diverse world demands a solution that can only be achieved by bringing together different perspectives."

Dick Reizenstein, associate professor of marketing, and Terry Esper, assistant professor of logistics, coached the three students.

 The ability to compete and be successful against other top-tier schools will hopefully shed more light publicly on the caliber of the college.
- James Walker, full-time MBA student 

The team had four weeks to finish their competition case, which was how to coordinate a market-entry strategy into India for Chrysler. UT library databases, subject experts, public search engines and firsthand knowledge of students native to India provided sources of information for the team's project, Walker said.

Each team had 20 minutes to present its strategy before panels of judges. The presentation was followed by a 10 minute question-and-answer session with two different panels of judges. Five teams then were selected to compete in the finals.

"[This win] means that CBA is producing some of the most innovative, analytical and prepared business minds that can compete with other students on any level," Cottrell said. "This win shows that the college understands the value of diversity in the classroom, the workplace and the world."

Walker said, "It feels great to get UT back on the map for the NBMBAA case competition, but the real goal is to ensure a strong showing next year as well as the years to come."

The three students will graduate in December 2008.

Florida A&M University placed first in the competition.