ASU Business Students Shine in National Innovation Contest

SAN ANGELO, TX - A team of four Angelo State University undergraduate business students placed in the top eight out of more than 50 teams from universities across the U.S. in the Presentation Pro contest at the recent 2026 National Collegiate Innovation Championship in Nashville, Tenn.

The Presentation Pro contest consisted of teams of up to five students that were tasked with making 10-minute, live pitch presentations for fictitious start-up companies in two categories: Own Company and Hypothetical Company. In the Own Company category, the ASU team pitched a venture idea for a company that places refrigerated lockers in high-density residential high-rise buildings as the final link in the growing grocery and food delivery industry.

The pitches were scored based on multiple criteria, including:

• Innovation
• Problem-Solution Fit
• Profitability Potential
• Feasibility
• Impact
• Compelling
• Logic and organization of presentation

The ASU team competed against teams from primarily Division I universities, including Rice University, Florida State University, University of Kansas, Ohio State University, University of Missouri, Louisiana State University and many others. The ASU team included four senior management majors:

• Jeff Isenhart of San Dimas, Calif.
• Han Ly of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Abel Prince of Kingsland
• Anali Rivera of Del Rio

"Competitions like this help open your mind about learning, careers and future goals," Ly said. "I hope the university continues to send more students to competitions like this because it helps us develop real skills and it felt like a real preview of future work challenges. We also gained valuable networking opportunities with professors and students from other schools, which will help in our future careers."

In laying the groundwork for their contest pitches, the ASU team members put in over 50 hours of preparation time through multiple weekly meetings, as well as additional time in individual work on their pitches.

"This was all about the students and their efforts," said Dr. Jaime Suarez, assistant professor of management. "I'm also thankful for the university's and my department's quickness in providing resources that give these types of new opportunities to those students who put in extra work in class and have the drive to go beyond their coursework."

"I believe we have set the expectation and that future ASU teams can learn from what we did to be even better for their teams," Rivera said. "I was nervous, but realized quickly that we could compete at a high level, and I am now better able to attack more challenges and opportunities in the future."

This marked the first time an ASU team has competed in the National Collegiate Innovation Championship, which is a component of Baylor University's National Collegiate Business Championships program.