Ten years ago, Dr. Erin Pleggenkuhle-Miles and Emeritus Management Professor Rebecca Morris were searching for a new way to bring strategy to life for their students when Pleggenkuhle-Miles stumbled across a case competition that intrigued her.

“The case competition we modeled after was a one-day competition with a live case – an actual business. We wanted to embed ours in a class and made it more of a tournament-style competition,” said Pleggenkuhle-Miles.

And with that, UNO’s College of Business Administration’s Capstone Cup was born. Originally called the Case Study Competition, it was designed to provide students with a unique and valuable educational experience, but it looked much different in 2014.

“We wanted them to focus on the information in the case and use the tools they’d learned in class. So, we didn’t allow any technology!” said Pleggenkuhle-Miles. “We still invited external judges to come in and participate because that’s where the real value of all of this lies. Right away we had support from different community members, which continues today.”

When Dr. Erin Bass joined the faculty, she and Pleggenkuhle-Miles continued to change and improve the competition. To further engage organizations, they developed a sponsorship opportunity that provides prizes for winning teams, professional headshots for all students and other support along the way.

The Capstone Cup is a semester-long event and an opportunity for seniors to translate classroom learning into practical solutions for Omaha businesses. Students work in teams and spend months doing diligent research to develop detailed poster presentations. The finals include live presentations and interactive Q&A sessions with judges made up of community members, local professionals and experts in their fields.

“I initially chose to be a judge to get connected to the university for recruiting purposes as well as get connected to other business leaders in the community,” said Brian Woolfolk, head of the Institutional Division at Pacific Life. “I keep coming back year after year because I really enjoy it.”

Previous Capstone Cup case study businesses include Scooter’s Coffee, Quantum Workplace, Rocket Car Wash, Right At Home, and the Omaha Supernovas – Omaha’s new Pro Volleyball team.

“The Capstone Cup experience was one of the highlights of my undergraduate program at UNO. It brought my business education to life,” said William Scheopner, Spring 2023 Capstone Cup winner. “The real-world experience provided by it helped me to prepare for the next step of my career and gave me a concrete experience to talk about in interviews.”

Today, the Capstone Cup is a flagship experience for CBA students. The experiential learning aspect equips students with the practical skills and confidence needed to thrive in today’s competitive market.

“I think it has helped the students get a deeper understanding of strategy and the integration of business,” said Bass. “It helps them see everything they’ve learned in their business degree in one cumulative project.”