Heavener International Case Competition

Feb 8-14, 2026 | Warrington College of Business

A week of business experience in Florida

The ability to see how business is conducted through different cultures is an invaluable resource in a globalizing economy. Case competitions are a great opportunity to take what is learned in the classroom and apply it to real world business scenarios. The Heavener International Case Competition (“HICC”) will provide competitors a week of business experience in Florida, one of the tourist capitals of the world!

Provide a world-class competition that exposes students to the strategic challenges and decisions encountered by global business leaders
Provide students the opportunity to improve their problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills
Provide an environment for the exchange of ideas and experiences among students and coaches
Real-world application

Two business students attentively listening and discussing with a presenter during a case competition presentation.

The competition

February 8 – 14, 2026
Warrington College of Business
University of Florida

Location

University students seated in rows in a lecture hall, focused on writing notes in booklets during a preparation session.

The cases

The Heavener School of Business collaborates with sponsoring organizations to develop business cases for the competition.

Rulebook

A group of 10 diverse undergraduate students stand in two rows outdoors between brick buildings, all wearing matching green polo shirts and jeans, arms crossed confidently.

The participants

A diverse group of the best business schools in the world are invited to participate. Teams consist of four undergraduates selected by their school.

Participant info

An attentive international student listens carefully in a conference or classroom setting during an event.

Global exposure

Business practices and philosophies vary the world over. You’ll learn about approaches and applications you hadn’t considered from your fellow competitors during trips and social hours held throughout the week.

A diverse group of university students posing outdoors with a person in a panda costume, smiling and enjoying a day out at a colorful amusement park.

Network and explore

You’ll come out of your brainstorming sessions to network and socialize with global peers as eager to transform business as you are. In between, excursions take you to the sights and excitement of one of the world’s tourist capitals.

Heavener School of Business

Warrington College of Business
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

UF campus map

Location

Known for the beauty of its natural surroundings, Gainesville serves as the cultural, educational and commercial center for the north central Florida region and is home to the University of Florida—Florida’s largest and oldest university. Gainesville’s numerous parks, museums, lakes and many nearby natural springs provide entertainment to thousands of visitors each year. Because of its beautiful landscape and urban “forest,” Gainesville is one of the most attractive cities in Florida.

Average High Temperature: 76° F / 24° C
Average Low Temperature: 54° F / 12° C

Things to do

Gainesville is host to many cultural events, art and theater, as well as unique restaurants and cuisine. Outdoor activities are plentiful given the beautiful natural surroundings. Check out Visit Gainesville.

From Gainesville you can easily visit major cities, Florida’s famous beaches and theme parks. Just 2 hours to the west, Tampa and serene Gulf Coast beaches await; 2 hours to the east Jacksonville and the Atlantic coastal beaches and 2 hours south, you will find Orlando, the home of Disney World and Universal Studios theme parks.

Hotel

AC Hotel Gainesville
151 Nw 14th St
Gainesville, FL 32603
352-792-1151
Directions to hotel

All competition locations will be within walking distance of the host hotel with the university just across the street.

Rideshare services (Uber/Lyft) are also available in Gainesville.

Airports

Gainesville Regional Airport

Other airports within 2-3 hours of Gainesville:

Participant info

Individual eligibility

The HICC is offered to universities that provide programs related to undergraduate business disciplines. Each individual participant in the HICC must meet all the following criteria:

Participants must be full-time undergraduate students at a participating school, 26 years of age or younger
For students on the European University System: A student currently studying in or before the 3rd year of specialized business education
For students on the North American system: A student currently studying in or before the 4th year of undergraduate study
The student may not have participated in HICC in a prior year

Team compositions

Participating universities are permitted to enter one (1) team consisting of four (4) members and are allowed to be accompanied by one (1) or more coach(es).

Should a team member become unable to participate, due to unexpected illness or other reasons, during the competition, the team may continue with the remaining members. Substitutions or alternates are not permitted.

16 universities from around the world

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

University College Cork — National University of Ireland

Case tools

Laptop
Charger
Adapter
Provided case materials outlined in the Case Information section of the Rule Book.

Travel items

Toiletries
Identification documents (e.g., passports)
Phones
Sunscreen
Umbrella/Raingear

Clothes

Clothes for the week, including the following:

Cocktail attire (e.g., semi-formal)
Two (2) university t-shirts (one to wear at kick-off ceremony and one to swap at kick-off ceremony)
Formal business attire (e.g., suits, blouses, blazers)

Kick-off ceremony: University t-shirt and extra University t-shirt to swap with another participant
Team pictures: HICC shirts
Case presentations: Formal business attire
Tuesday dinner: Cocktail attire (e.g., semi-formal)

Competition schedule 2025

Time	8-Feb	9-Feb	10-Feb	11-Feb	12-Feb	13-Feb	14-Feb	15-Feb	16-Feb
7:00		Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
7:30
8:00
8:30
9:00				Case presentations	Bus to theme park		Work on Case 2: 28 hours	Case presentations	Safe travels!
9:30
10:00		Swag & supply distribution	Team pictures
10:30		Swag & supply distribution	Rules briefing
11:00			Teams meet with coach
11:30		HICC kick-off	Case briefing	Lunch	Theme park			Feedback & division results
12:00		HICC kick-off	Free time	Feedback		Case Briefing
12:30		BBQ lunch	Free time	Feedback
13:00		BBQ lunch	Work on Case 1: 9 hours (1pm-10pm)	Ranking announcements		Work on Case 2: 28 hours
13:30		Division draw & shirt swap		Free time or optional gun range
14:00		Division draw & shirt swap						Finals
14:30		Stadium & campus tour
15:00	Arrival
15:30
16:00								Break to change
16:30
17:00							Free time
17:30		Buy snacks & have dinner with host		Free time
18:00					Bus to hotel
18:30
19:00				Swamp social				Touchdown Terrace closing ceremony
19:30		Networking event
20:00
20:30
21:00
21:30
22:00
22:30
23:00
23:30
0:00

Case-related
Social-related

Rulebook

General expectations

Submitted materials (i.e., PowerPoint slides) and presentations must be in English.
Preparation of cases will occur in competitors’ hotel rooms.
Teams are encouraged to conduct substantial research about the case company/industry prior to arriving at the competition if given the case companies.

Preparation materials

Provided materials:

One (1) Flip Chart
One (1) pack of four (4) colored markers
Fifty (50) sheets of 8.5’’/11’’ paper

Allowed, but not provided materials:

Calculators of any sort
Additional stationery material (e.g., post-it notes, pens, pencils)
Four (4) laptops with ability to connect to wifi networks
Prepared documentation, research and notes
Prepared presentation PowerPoint decks (i.e., templates) are allowed and encouraged

External communication

Teams are prohibited from communicating with any outside party during the time they are working on the case.

For Case 1, teams are prohibited from engaging in discussion about the case with anyone other than their team members until after the Question-and-Answer period.

For Case 2, teams are prohibited from engaging in communication with their coach until the finalists are announced. Finalists are prohibited from engaging in communication with their coach until after they have completed the Question-and-Answer period for the final round of presentations.

Division selection and team names

Teams will be divided into four (4) divisions
Universities will be assigned a division by a random draw
Universities will present under a chosen team name (e.g., “ABC Consulting”). Team names may not identify the participants university or home country by any means (e.g., school colors, mascots, national symbols)

Case 1: 9 hours

1 pre-read
3-minute uninterrupted overview
22-minute discussion
2 summary slides (not including title slide) & unlimited appendix slides

Case 2: 28 hours

1 pre-read
5-minute uninterrupted overview
20-minute discussion
5 summary slides (not including title slide) & unlimited appendix slides

Case 1

Deliverables

For case 1, teams must submit the presentation in both PDF and PowerPoint file format (.ppt or .pptx)
A one-page pre-read to give to the judges that provides an overview of your recommendations is submitted the night before
PowerPoint deck with two summary slides providing overview of recommendations followed by unlimited appendix slides supporting recommendations
PowerPoint slide size is widescreen (16:9)

Presentation

Teams will present using one (1) personal laptop.

Teams will have three (3) uninterrupted minutes to present a summary of their recommendations. Teams may not access their appendix slides during this portion. Accessing appendix slides during this portion will result in a last place finish.

When the 3 minutes have elapsed, the room monitor will announce the start of the twenty-two (22) minute discussion period. Teams may access and are encouraged to use their appendix slides during this period.

There is no requirement on the number of team members that need to speak during the 3-minute presentation; however, all team members must speak during the discussion period.

Time signals of ten (10), five (5), two (2), and one (1) will be given for the discussion period. A one (1) minute signal will be given for the 3-minute pitch.

After the time has elapsed, the presenters will be cut-off if still speaking.

The judging panel will have access to virtual copies of the presentation.

Case 2

Deliverables

For case 2, teams must submit the presentation in both PDF and PowerPoint file format (.ppt or .pptx)
A one-page pre-read to give to the judges that provides an overview of your recommendations is submitted the night before
PowerPoint deck with summary slides (five slide limit) providing overview of recommendations followed by unlimited appendix slides supporting recommendations
PowerPoint slide size is widescreen (16:9)

Presentation

Teams will present using a provided computer.

Teams will have five (5) uninterrupted minutes to present a summary of their recommendations. Teams may not access their appendix slides during this portion. Accessing appendix slides during this portion will result in a last place finish. There is no requirement on the number of team members that need to speak during the 5-minute presentation.

When the 5 minutes have elapsed, the room monitor will announce the start of the twenty-minute (20) discussion period. Teams may access and are encouraged to use their appendix slides during this period. All team members must speak during the discussion period and failure for every team member to speak during the twenty-minute time frame results in a last place finish.

Time signals of ten (10), five (5), two (2), and one (1) will be given for the discussion period. A one-minute (1) signal will be given for the 5-minute overview.

After the time has elapsed, the presenters will be cut-off if still speaking.

The judging panel will have access to virtual copies of the presentation.

Final round

Deliverables

The team with the highest number of points in each division will present in the final round. In the event of a tie, the team with the highest score for the long case will advance
Teams will re-present their Case 2 presentation in the final round. Teams are not allowed to modify their PowerPoint in any way between the divisional and final round
The order of finalist presentations will be chosen at random

Presentation

Presentation format follows case 2 instructions.

Case weighting: case 1 (9 hours)

Case 1 weighted at 25% for final round eligibility
Teams will choose their presentation time for Case 2 in the order they are ranked for Case 1. For example, the first-place team in Case 1 will be the first team in their division to choose which presentation time they want for Case 2

Case weighting: case 2 (28 hours)

Case 2 weighted at 75% for final round eligibility
The team in each division with the highest allocated points after Case 2 will present in the final round

In the event of a tie, the team with the highest score for the long case will advance.

Case weighting: point allocation

Case	Weighting	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1	25%	10	7.5	5	2.5
2	75%	30	22.5	15	7.5

Case evaluation

Each case presentation will be evaluated by a panel of at least two (2) judges, with no maximum number of judges.

The judging panels will consist of case company representatives and industry professionals (e.g., consultants, bankers, etc.). There will be zero (0) academic staff on the judging panels.

The judges will rank the teams in their appointed divisions, with points allocated to teams as listed in the above table.

Spectator attendance

Competitors may not attend any other presentations during the three divisional rounds; however, all competitors are welcome and encouraged to watch the finalist presentations.

Finalist teams may only watch the remainder finalist presentations after they have presented.

Team coaches are allowed to attend all presentations in their assigned divisions. Coaches are not allowed to attend presentations from teams of another division.

The final round will be open to the public.

Case feedback

After all presentations, teams will be allowed ten (10) minutes of feedback from the judging panels. Teams are welcome to ask questions during this period on ways to improve, or just listen to the feedback.

Coaches are only allowed to attend the feedback of their team.

Rankings will not be given during the feedback, and teams are not allowed to ask for their rankings.

The Organizing Committee reserves the right to disqualify any team for violating any of the above rules. The right to disqualification extends to areas of competition not explicitly outlined in this rule book such as general conduct throughout the competition. Decisions by the committee are binding and non-negotiable.