DeGroote claims victory at MBA Games
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/mba games.jpg” caption=”Paul Bates (centre), Dean of the DeGroote School of Business, congratulates team captains, Kate Pelton, Anita Chetan, Alok Ghai and Melissa Coulson, who helped guide DeGroote’s team to victory in the MBA Games. Photo by Susan Bubak.”]MBA students from the DeGroote School of Business were named national champions last weekend at the annual MBA Games. In a victory that surprised the students themselves, McMaster's team of 22 students — half the size of other competitor's teams — presented, played and cheered their way to the top.
The MBA Games, which started at Queen's University about 20 years ago, consist of three days of academic, athletic and spirit competitions. Held this year at the University of Alberta, the Games were the largest gathering of MBA students in Canada, with 15 schools and more than 300 students participating.
A key part of DeGroote's victory was winning the overall academic category, which included wins in Business Jeopardy and the prestigious marketing case competition.
For the marketing case, Edmonton company Vicom asked teams to devise a plan to grow the firm in the competitive Alberta economy. DeGroote recommended focusing on key sectors and assigning small customer management teams to each new client.
DeGroote also claimed top prize in the marketing case competition at last year's MBA Games.
The academic category makes up the largest proportion of a team's overall score. That number is combined with a team's spirit and athletic scores to form the final total. DeGroote's team claimed victory in basketball, going undefeated and outscoring the opposition by 87 points in three games, and in volleyball, only losing one set in an undefeated run.
“This was a combined effort by the whole DeGroote team,” explains co-captain Melissa Coulson. “While we excelled in the academic portion, we would not have won the cup without the athletics contribution and the tremendous enthusiasm of the whole team.”
Co-captain Alok Ghai also cites the importance of sponsorship in the team's victory. “None of this would have been possible without our sponsors who helped get us to Edmonton.”
Sponsors included the dean's office, School of Business, Novopharm, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen-Ortho, Stryker, Blackstone Partners, JAN Kelley Marketing, Mitel, and Fortinos (Main West, Hamilton).
“The team represented DeGroote with great energy, pride and integrity. As captains we are extremely proud of the team's achievements and representation of DeGroote at this national event,” concludes Anita Chetan, the team's co-captain.
