ISU Teams Take Home 6 Awards at International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition

Students from the College of Business have again secured a number of honors at this year’s International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition. 

This year, the undergraduate team from Idaho State University won Best Written Documents, Best Presentation, Outstanding Performance in Stock Market, and runner-up for Overall Performance. Meanwhile, the graduate team from ISU won Best Presentation and runner-up for Overall Performance at the ICBSC. The 62nd ICBSC brought together teams from around the world to manage a simulated manufacturing company over five years. Organized into graduate and undergraduate teams, they spent 10 weeks–three years in simulation time– at home in Pocatello, making decisions a business quarter at a time related to the operations of their fictitious company. The final two years of decisions were made when all the teams were brought together on the campus of California State University, Long Beach, and the competition concluded with formal presentations to a board of directors comprising executives from companies and organizations. 

“Both teams navigated simulated worlds with runaway inflation, dramatic shifts in exchange rates, and a closure of a major shipping lane that disrupted supplies,” said Alex Bolinger, ICCU Endowed Professor of Management at ISU and advisor to the ICBSC teams. “Both teams ran into strategic roadblocks earlier in the semester, but stuck together to come from behind. On top of bringing home an armful of trophies, both teams won high praise from their competitors and the competition's organizers for how well they represented ISU.”

"ICBSC was 100 percent the best experience of my whole college experience,” said James Cannon, a member of the graduate team who will be graduating with a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing on May 9. “It is the perfect experience to cap off college because I was able to put to the test everything I have learned in all of my classes while making such strong bonds with a team. I am forever bonded with my team, and I will take those memories with me for the rest of my life. I was rewarded with so much confidence that I can do difficult things even when things get tough."

Idaho State has fielded teams in the ICBSC on and off since the 1970s and for 11 straight years since 2015. Participation in the competition is made possible through financial support from ICCU and Bob and Diane Johnson.

“ICBSC was a truly life-changing experience for me,” said Macy Winder, a member of the undergraduate team who’s majoring in finance. “Through the guidance of Alex Bolinger, Paul Obermann, and collaboration with my teammates, I gained valuable insights into what it takes to successfully run a business. Beyond the knowledge and skills I developed, I also built meaningful connections and lifelong friendships that made the experience even more impactful. I now feel more confident and better prepared for my future classes, professional opportunities, and projects, and I look forward to applying what I’ve learned across many areas of my life.”

“In an era when many institutions are scrambling to be able to provide these sorts of formative learning experiences for students, the support of our donors and community partners, our alumni, and our faculty and staff makes it possible for any ambitious College of Business student to be able to apply to participate in ICBSC if they are willing to work hard and grow,” Bolinger said. “Thank you to our student participants, who put in countless hours this semester as a priceless investment in their own education and an investment in each other. Their success proves ISU students can compete with anyone in the world when they are given the opportunity.”

For more information about the ICBSC teams at Idaho State, visit isu.edu/cob/icbsc/. Prospective students can book a campus tour at isu.edu/visit.