The Associate

The Associate is the College of Business and Economics' signature business case competition adapted from the NBC series The Apprentice. Held each spring, the competition provides students with a memorable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase their business acumen, while learning invaluable lessons from successful business leaders.

Throughout the course of the competition, area companies pose real-world business cases to eight graduating seniors, who split into two teams. One candidate is let go from the competition on a weekly basis until the final boardroom session when "The Associate" is named.

Examples of weekly cases include planning round table events, organizing the consolidation of office space and developing a marketing plan. Participating companies have included Bank of America, McCormick and Company, r2Integrated, Sherwin Williams, Target, and UBS Financial Services.