For the third time in four years, four master of business administration students from the Faculty of Business Administration of Memorial University of Newfoundland have captured first place in the 1991 National MBA Case Competition Championship. The team, consisting of Karen Quinton-Appleby, Pam Elliott, Cheryl Gallant and Kathy Lush-Coleman, successfully defended the national championship won by Memorial in 1990.

The tenth annual competition, hosted by Concordia University in Montreal from January 16-19, attracted 18 teams from the best graduate business schools in the country. The team was coached by Dr. Alex Faseruk, associate professor of finance, and Glenn Rowe, lecturer.

MUN first won the national championship in 1988, while the 1989 team finished second. Three championships in four years of the National MBA Case Competition is totally unprecedented, given that McGill University and the Université de Québec à Montréal are the only universities to have won two championships. Memorial’s five appearances in the final round of three teams is also a record. Université Laval is second with four appearances.

Memorial’s record is the envy of every other business school in the nation, and Dr. Faseruk stresses that this competition is not an easy one to win. As he explained, “This year it seemed that every other competing university was out to beat Memorial. The competition was intense and our team members were under a great deal of pressure. They were at all times excellent ambassadors of the university. Memorial’s prestige has been greatly enhanced, not only by the maturity and professionalism of the team, but also by their friendliness.”

For the preliminary rounds, the 18 teams were divided into three groups of six teams with a round robin being conducted among the teams. The top team in each group advanced to the final round. The teams were given three hours to provide a consultant’s report to solve several key business problems. These solutions were presented to a simulated board of directors for the company. The board of directors was comprised of Montreal area business executives.

Memorial emerged from the gruelling preliminary round as champions of their group, which included teams from Wilfrid Laurier, Queen’s, Saint Mary’s, New Brunswick and McGill.

Memorial was joined in the final round by the University of Saskatchewan in second place and the University of Toronto in third place. For their first-place finish, the team was presented with the $2000 Bank of Montreal scholarship, to be equally divided among the team members.

Over the last six years Memorial has dominated the competition. In 1986, the team in won the preliminary round championship, finished third overall, and was awarded the Pratt & Whitney Scholarship. The 1987 team captured the consolation round championship with its fourth-place finish. The 1988,1990 and 1991 teams won the competition and were awarded Bank of Montreal scholarships, while the 1989 team received the Alcan Aluminum Company scholarship for its second-place finish.