Students and advisors from around the world gathered in Chicago for conference and competitions
Chicago, IL—The American Marketing Association (AMA) is excited to announce the competition and scholarship winners from this year’s 2026 International Collegiate Conference (ICC) held in Chicago. The conference is an opportunity for the next generation of marketers to make professional connections in the marketing field, learn and grow skills, and compete in marketing competitions.
“The marketing talent on display at the 2026 International Collegiate Conference was nothing short of inspiring,” said Bennie F. Johnson, CEO of the AMA. “Our winners and scholarship recipients didn’t just meet the bar; they raised it. This year’s theme, Level Up, perfectly captured the drive and ambition our collegiate members brought to every competition. These students have proven they have the skill and vision to lead the next generation of marketing.”
“I also want to extend my gratitude to our conference co-chairs, Dr. Delonia Minor-Cooley and Dr. Loran Jarrett. The success of this event is due to their brilliant leadership, wisdom, and commitment to helping our students excel,” said Johnson.
Competition Winners
- Case Competition – co-sponsored by Major League Baseball & Deloitte Consulting
1st Place:
University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
2nd Place:
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Montana State University – Bozeman
Florida State University
3rd Place:
University of Cincinnati
High Point University
University of Nevada – Reno
George Washington University
Ferris State University
Temple University
University of Pennsylvania
- Marketing Strategy Competition – sponsored by Medill School of Journalism & PPAI
1st Place:
Bob Jones University
Zan Herzog & Eric Weist
2nd Place:
Montana State University – Bozeman
Lizzy Totten & Lindsay Posewitz
3rd Place:
Plymouth State University
Thomas Giessler & Carissa Adams
- Perfect Pitch Competition – sponsored by Gartner
1st Place:
Hailey Hesseltine, Texas State University
Madison Silcox, Virginia Commonwealth University
2nd Place:
Mohamed Turay, Virginia Commonwealth University
Michael Van Offeren, University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
3rd Place:
Ashlynn Chavez, California State University – Long Beach
Kayla Lee, Virginia Commonwealth University
4th Place:
Paris Graham, Florida State University
Peter Waning, Marian University
5th Place:
Kaarthika Vinayak, Virginia Commonwealth University
Nicholas Williams, University of Tampa
6th Place:
Eli Givens, Marian University
Lexi Urbassik, Bloomsburg University – Pennsylvania
7th Place:
Zane Herzog, Bob Jones University
Ella Crouch, Lipscomb University
8th Place:
Nicole Nowak, University of Tampa
Addison Villegas, Texas State University
9th Place:
Diego Vacaflores, Texas State University
Russell Magpayo, Virginia Commonwealth University
10th Place:
Caitlyn Muniz, North Carolina State University
Valeria Collazo Muñiz, University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras
- Sales Competition – sponsored by Insight Global
1st Place:
Paris Graham, Florida State University
Jordan Rosenblum, Florida State University
Luis Lopez, University of Texas – Arlington
2nd Place:
Adam Hvitfeldt-Matthews, Virginia Commonwealth University
Valeria Ruiz, Kennesaw State University
Isaac Oh, California State University – Long Beach
3rd Place:
Dylan Green, California State University – Chico
Abby Zimmerman, University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
Victoria Adams, Virginia Commonwealth University
4th Place:
Daniela Jarpa Sarmiento, Lipscomb University
Joshua Fisher, Robert Morris University
Taylor Wojcinski, University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
5th Place:
Michael Van Offeren, University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
Jason Schiltz, St. John Fisher University
Chloe Pasquet, Florida State University
- Marketing Business Simulation Competition – sponsored by Marketplace Simulations
1st Place:
Florida International University
2nd Place:
California State University – Long Beach
3rd Place:
Missouri State University
4th Place:
St. John Fisher University
5th Place:
John Carroll University
- Digital Marketing Competition – sponsored by Minus33 & McGraw Hill
1st Place:
North Carolina State University
2nd Place:
Pennsylvania State University
3rd Place:
Rice University
- Design Lab Marketing Competition – sponsored by Polymarket
1st Place:
Virginia Commonwealth University
2nd Place:
West Chester University
3rd Place:
Robert Morris University
Award Winners
- Faculty Advisor Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
- Delonia Minor- Cooley, Texas Southern University
- Hugh G. Wales Faculty Advisor of the Year
- John Davis – University of Oregon
- Student Marketer of Year
- Anjali Sharma, University of Maryland – College Park
Chapter Winners
- International Chapters of the Year: Small Chapter Division
- Bellarmine University
- International Chapters of the Year: Large Chapter Division
- Pennsylvania State University
- University of Nevada – Las Vegas
- University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras
Scholarship Recipients
- Diversity Leadership Scholarship
- Billy Zheng, University of Pennsylvania
- Ryan Dong, University of Pennsylvania
- Kayla Dahmer, University of Southern Indiana
- Dwight R. Smith, University of Maryland Global Campus
- Yisel Irizarry, University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez
- Robert DeLay Social Impact Scholarship
- Maggie Gu, University of Pennsylvania
- Christopher Kwok, University of Pennsylvania
- Uma Mukhopadhyay, University of Pennsylvania
- Stryker Buoncristiano Scholarship
- Samuel Richards, California State University Chico
- Andie Lovejoy, University of Maine
- Lee Epstein Scholarship
- Caitlin Eng, Clemson University
- Christian Kim, University of Pennsylvania
- EBSCO Student Scholar Award
- Kate Ahn, University of Pennsylvania
- Giana Colonna, University of Maryland College Park
- Luke Robinson, University of Maryland College Park
Finally, a thank you to all of this year’s competition sponsors, exhibitors and recruiters:
Case Competition Co-Sponsors
- Major League Baseball & Deloitte Consulting
Sales Competition Sponsor
- Insight Global
Perfect Pitch Competition
- Gartner
Event Partner
- Enterprise Mobility & L’Oreal
Marketing Business Simulation Competition Sponsor
- Marketplace Simulations
Digital Marketing Competition Sponsor
- Minus33 & McGraw Hill
Design Lab Marketing Competition Sponsor
- Polymarket
Dinner Sponsor
- PPAI
Sales Showcase Sponsors
- Black Diamond Networks
- Cintas
- Gartner
- Goosehead Insurance
- Gray Television
- Insight Global
- Samsara
- Tom Jones
Skill Up Station Sponsors
- Enterprise Mobility
- Gartner
- Purdue University
- West Virginia University Reed College of Media
Faculty Reception Sponsors
- Enterprise Mobility
- Digital Marketing Institute
Exhibitors and Recruiters
- Black Diamond Networks
- CED
- Chicago Fire FC
- Cintas
- Eight Eleven Group
- Enterprise Mobility
- Florida Atlantic University
- Gartner
- Goosehead Insurance
- Gray Media
- Harvard Business School
- Insight Global
- Jackson Family Wines
- Kambia
- L’Oreal
- Marriott Vacations Worldwide
- Medill School of Journalism, Integrated Marketing Communications
- Polymarket
- Purdue University Daniels School of Business
- Samsara
- Savannah College of Art
- Tom James
- WPP Media
- WVU John Chambers College of Business & Economics
Next year’s ICC will take place April 8-10, 2027 in New Orleans, LA. More information: 2027 AMA International Collegiate Conference.
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About the American Marketing Association (AMA)
As the leading global professional marketing association, the AMA is the essential community for marketers. From students and practitioners to executives and academics, we aim to elevate the profession, deepen knowledge, and make a lasting impact. The AMA is home to five premier scholarly journals including: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, and Journal of Interactive Marketing. Our industry-leading training events and conferences define future forward practices, while our professional development and PCM® professional certification advance knowledge. With almost 70 chapters and a presence on 350 college campuses across North America, the AMA fosters a vibrant community of marketers.
The association’s philanthropic arm, the AMA’s Foundation, is inspiring a more diverse industry and ensuring marketing research impacts public good. The AMA Foundation strengthens and elevates the marketing profession by advancing knowledge, building a global community of marketing leaders, and supporting marketing initiatives that drive innovation and societal impact.
AMA views marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. You can learn more about AMA’s learning programs and certifications, conferences and events, and scholarly journals at AMA.org.