The Manderson Case Team won the annual Race & Case competition hosted by the Daniels College of Business at University of Denver. The winning team of Alice Terry, Cale Brown, Gretchen Minor, and Teegan Mathey brought home the trophy and $5,000 in prize money.
This unique competition, held in February, blends developing strategies to solve a business problem and skiing at the Breckenridge Ski Resort. For the competition, 90% of the team’s score is taken from the business presentation and 10% is based on the ski results.
“What was so special about getting to work with this team is how we’ve grown to be such great friends throughout this experience,” Terry said. “That’s not just something I’ve seen with this team alone, but the entire Manderson MBA Case Team. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with such incredible, hardworking, and genuine individuals.”
This year’s case focused on Breakthru Beverage Group, a leading North American liquor distributor. Teams were tasked with developing a strategy to ethically engage with Gen Z while identifying portfolio gaps. The team demonstrated a strong understanding of Breakthru’s business and regulatory environment in their recommendations, which included hiring a trends team, empowering retailers through distribution of tailored event toolkits, and including the key consumer segments they identified in their research.
“The opportunity to represent The University of Alabama was one of my favorite experiences throughout my time at the Capstone,” Mathey said. “Our winning solution was the result of countless hours of teamwork and iteration, and we were proud to showcase our strategy for Breakthru Beverage Group to ethically engage with Gen Z. This experience allowed us to grow immensely as individuals and as a team.”
Race & Case originated in 2003 by students at the Daniels College of Business. They wanted to showcase the school’s curriculum while taking advantage of the incredible setting of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. In the winter of 2004, Race & Case, an ethics-focused case competition paired with a ski race, was launched.
For more information about Manderson Case Team, contact Quoc Hoang at qhhoang@ ua.edu.
