Welcome to March Economic Madness!
The first interscholastic student team competition to address problems of small or remote communities.
March Economic Madness gives university students an opportunity to form teams and compete across universities to come up with solutions for real communities seeking both sustainable growth and good quality of life for their citizens.
For 2021, The University of Texas Permian Basin and The University of Texas at Austin will identify finalist teams. Presentations will be delivered online with no need for travel.
2021 Timeline Overview
January: Student teams form at each university.
February: Team applications due. Round 1 prompt distributed. Click here to view the Round 1 prompt.
March: Round 1 to select 3 finalist teams from each university. Round 2 prompt distributed. Click here to view the Round 2 prompt. Round 2 to identify 1 winning team.
Students should consult the websites of UTPB and UT Austin for detailed timelines.
Team Criteria
Any currently enrolled student at UTPB or UT Austin is eligible to join a team. However, each team must include representation from at least two colleges/schools. Additionally, no team may include more than two graduate students or more than two first-year undergraduate students. Teams must have 4 or 5 members. No changes in team membership may occur after the teams have registered and been confirmed on February 3.
Communities for Study
Communities studied will be Texas cities with population sizes between 20,000 and 40,000. The group of cities selected for study will represent north, south, east, west, and central Texas.
Awards
The top three teams from each university will be designated as finalists and qualified to compete in the final round. The team selected as winner of the final round will be awarded $25,000. The winning team will also “bring home” the March Economic Madness trophy to the team’s university to be displayed for one year.
Judges
Marilu Hastings
Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer
Austin, TX
cgmf.org
Mike Mauldin
Texas Tech University, Director, Excellence in Banking
Lubbock, TX
ttu.edu
Britta Klucznik
Truist Financial Corporation, Senior Vice President, Middle Market Banking
Austin, TX
truist.com
Click here for their full bios.