Business students take top place with analysis of sporting goods company
Raven Garcia of Port Lavaca didn’t sign up for a competition, she just wanted an A.
As a senior studying accounting and set to graduate in Fall 2026 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a minor in management at Texas A&M University-Victoria, she thought the semester’s big case project was simply a major class assignment.
It wasn’t until later that she and her teammates learned their work would be judged against 23 other teams in this semester’s College of Business’s Bachelor of Business Administration Case Conference. In the end, they rose to the top, earning first place.
“When I found out we got first place, I texted them, and we couldn’t believe we just made this big accomplishment together,” Garcia said. “This means a lot to me, I recently just had a newborn and went back to working full time, so doing all of this while maintaining a crazy schedule, it was so euphoric.”
As part of the Management 4309 capstone course, the BBA Case Conference takes place each semester and challenges students to complete an in-depth analysis of a publicly traded company alongside their regular coursework. The project aims to give students a practical way to apply the business concepts and analytical skills they have developed through their degrees to a real-world organization.
Members of the winning team for the spring BBA Case Conference were Jacquilyn Deleon of Longview, Amen Fekade of Katy, Raven Garcia of Port Lavaca, Devan Rodriguez of Rosenberg and Eric Thust of Germany.
“The Capstone project is a rigorous challenge, and transitioning from a written report to a winning presentation requires exceptional effort,” said Tong Kang, A&M-Victoria associate professor of management. “Having mentored the winning team throughout the semester, I was deeply impressed by their diligence and their ability to swiftly incorporate my feedback into their work. Seeing them surpass all expectations was a proud moment for me. I congratulate the team on this outstanding achievement.”
For this semester, a total of 106 students competed in 24 separate teams. The conference was held over Microsoft Teams.
Competing teams this semester looked into Academy Sports + Outdoors, a sporting goods company based in Harris County, near Katy, Texas. The teams analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the company to see which areas could be improved.
Garcia, who served as the team lead for the group, drew on her teammates’ strengths and coordinated who handled external analysis, who designed the PowerPoint and how the final presentation would come together.
“Honestly, it was one of the best teams that I’ve ever worked with,” Garcia said. “Everyone was so communicative, we were supportive, and I think what really made our presentation was the line of communication that we had.”
The team members all lived in different towns and juggled work and school, so all of their meetings were done virtually and usually in the evenings, Garcia said. Throughout the project, they stayed in constant contact through regular online meetings and group messages several times a week, she said. Along the way, they also built strong personal connections and learned about each other’s backgrounds, something she particularly enjoyed, Garcia said.
While working on the project, the team analyzed the company through a strategic and internal standpoint, focusing on how the company operates and where it could grow. The team identified weaknesses and proposed recommendations, including ways to strengthen e-commerce efforts and ways it could potentially expand.
The night before the competition, Garcia and her teammates were feeling the pressure. Even after weeks of preparation, nerves kicked in as they looked ahead to presenting in front of the judges virtually and competing against 23 other teams, she said.
“We were texting in our group chat and just giving each other words of encouragement to say we’re about to hit the finish line,” Garcia said. “It felt like it was in the grasp of our hands, and we couldn’t let anything distract us.”
By the time competition day arrived, Garcia was focused on making sure everything ran smoothly. She logged into the Microsoft Teams meeting 30 minutes early to double-check the details, confirm the PowerPoint was in order and test the equipment to make sure their communication channels were working.
“My heart was racing; as soon as we finished our parts and heard the feedback, I felt like we had a really good chance,” Garcia said. “I didn’t think we would make first place, but looking back on this, it’s honestly a real big blessing, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Other teams that were placed in the BBA Case Conference were:
- Second place – Daizie Fuentez of Victoria, William Koliba of Karnes City, Adrian Moreno of Port Lavaca and Matthew Thompson of Katy.
- Third place – Theresa Carbajal of Port Lavaca, Luisa Correa of Rosenberg, Reema Khanji of Houston, Jennifer Mahan of Rosenberg and Crystal Pena of Houston.
Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.