Rules and Information
The 2023 NIU Business Olympics will be an in-person event held on Saturday, April 1, hosted by the NIU College of Business. High school and community college students are eligible to compete in teams that range from 1-5 members in size.
The 2023 NIU Business Olympics competitions are as follows:
- NIUIA Valuation Challenge. Teams participating in the NIUIA Valuation Challenge will select and investigate the hypothetical merger of two publicly-traded firms belonging to assigned industry, writing a professional report in the first round and presenting their findings in the second round.
- Big Idea Pitch Competition. Individuals or teams participating in the Big Idea Pitch Competition will pitch their idea for a new business to like-minded entrepreneurs, judges, and potential investors.
- Digital Marketing Competition. Teams participating in the Digital Marketing Competition will choose a local company and create a marketing strategy based on the RACE (reach, act, convert, engage) framework and from this framework develop a website for the company using our partner's free platform Wix. You must reach out to jaclyn.crawford@niu.edu for login information to Wix.
- Mobile App Idea Competition. As business transactions move to mobile devices, an App can be the competitive advantage a business needs to succeed. Your team can submit a mind-blowing concept to win the prize in the Mobile App Idea Competition.
- Accountancy Data Visualization Competition. Organizations deal with massive amounts of data as a result of their day-to-day operations. Teams participating in the Accountancy Data Visualization Competition will analyze organizational data to provide insights that will support better business decisions.
While teams may register for up to three competitions, they must complete this form only once. Team composition is not required to remain constant across the competitions, but team members may not switch between teams. (For example, Amanda and Cody can register for the first competition, and then Amanda, Juan and Jordan may register for the second competition; but Cody can’t join a different team in the second competition).
Rules of the Competition
- Students must attend a high school or community college (home-school teams are also welcome).
- A faculty adviser per team is strongly encouraged.
- Individuals or teams are invited to participate in up to three competitions. Team size cannot exceed five members.
- Diverse team composition is encouraged.
- Schools may have up to two competing teams for the NIUIA Valuation Challenge but an unlimited number of teams competing in the other competitions.
- Each competition is limited to the first 20 teams registered and approved.
- Once a team has been approved to participate, member substitutions are prohibited. If an unusual circumstance arises, the team’s faculty coach may contact the NIU Business faculty member who chairs the specific competition:
- Gina Nicolosi, gnicolos@niu.edu, NIUIA Valuation Challenge
- Barton Sharp, bsharp1@niu.edu, Big Idea Pitch Competition
- Biagio Palese, bpalese@niu.edu, Mobile App Idea Competition
- Matt Pickard, mpickard@niu.edu, Accountancy Data Visualization Competition
- Jaclyn Crawford, jaclyn.crawford@niu.edu, Digital Marketing Competition
- Teams must be available to participate in the NIU Business Olympics on Saturday, April 1, 2023.
Important Dates
Each competition is limited to the first 20 teams registered and approved.
- Friday, Feb. 17, 2023: NIUIA Valuation Challenge registration deadline
- Friday, March 3, 2023: Registration deadline for the Big Idea Pitch Competition, Accountancy Data Visualization Competition, Digital Marketing Competition
- Friday, March 3, 2023: NIUIA Valuation Challenge first-round written report due
Prizes
- First place: $200/person
- Second place: $100/person
Although changes are not anticipated, the College of Business reserves the right to make changes to the competition/rules at any time. Should a change occur, all teams will be notified.
2023 Sponsor
