SportsBiz Madness: 2025 Case Study Tournament Final Four Results
SportsBiz Madness: 2025 Case Study Tournament (Final Four Round Results)
The Championship Round is Set!
In this year’s Final Four round, students were challenged to create a cause-related event designed to raise money and awareness through an athlete or celebrity foundation.
It was a highly competitive round, and narrowing it down to two finalists was no easy task. Every team that made it this far should be incredibly proud of their work and their achievements in this tournament.
That said, two teams have earned their spot in the championship round. Read on to find out who’s advancing!
Deep Run High School (Virginia) VS. Flower Mound High School (Texas)
Students at Flower Mound High School (Dude Perfect’s Thrill Fest) edged out Deep Run High School students (The Brady Benefit) to punch their ticket to the Championship Round of this year’s tournament. Both entries delivered high-impact, well-executed event strategies, but Dude Perfect’s team pulled ahead by playing to their strengths and developing creative event activations and promotions that aligned with the brand.
The Thrill Fest concept was unique, high-energy, and right in line with what you’d expect from the Dude Perfect brand. From tiered ticketing and matched donations to smart, fan-friendly fundraising ideas, their plan had a ton of personality. Their sponsor lineup (Nerf, GoPro, and Dr. Pepper) made perfect sense and featured interactive activations that added energy and value to the event. Whether it was exclusive Nerf gun testing, a GoPro demo zone, or creative raffles and merch, every piece felt like something Dude Perfect fans would love, inspiring them to engage with the event.
Flower Mound students also impressed with a detailed crisis management plan, including a detailed “table” to prepare for any potential publicity problem, and a fun, memorable promotion strategy that included countdown teasers, a blimp flyover. It even an incredibly on-brand parachute stunt off the Dude Perfect HQ. It was incredibly unique, but it worked.
To their credit, Deep Run students delivered a polished and professional campaign with The Brady Benefit. Creating an event tied to Tom Brady’s TB12 foundation, The Brady Benefit was a great concept and featured really cool fundraising ideas like QR code donations, touch-to-give kiosks that demonstrated long-term potential. However, one factor that ultimately held them back was the Nike sponsorship, which, while compelling, didn’t quite align with Brady’s real-life brand relationships — including his long-time ties to Under Armour and his status as an investor in NOBULL. That kind of detail makes a difference in a challenge where sponsor alignment is part of the evaluation.
In the end, it was Flower Mound’s authentic brand fit, creative sponsor activations, and strong execution across the board that earned them the win.
Congrats to Flower Mound High School. We’ll see you in the Championship Round!
Wichita East High School (Kansas) VS. Grant High School (Oregon)
Grant High School came out swinging in this Final Four matchup and never looked back. Their Pass the Mic campaign, led by Zendaya, wasn’t just a fundraising event—it was a full-on movement to break the stigma around mental health. The event also featured major “guest” celebrities like Simone Biles, Terry Crews, Naomi Osaka, and others sharing their own personal mental health stories in schools and at live events across the country. It was powerful, emotional, and thoughtfully designed to elevate awareness by leveraging the reach and influence of a celebrity foundation. From school visits to a two-day Raise Your Voice music festival in NYC, the event was built to drive real change.
One of the most creative fundraising ideas? “Beacon Bands,” $50 collectible wristbands with embedded digital chips that unlocked exclusive content. Fans could collect all eight to earn free festival admission, and the wristbands were sponsor-branded—creating buzz, incentivizing donations, and opening up a whole new revenue stream for fundraising. That was just one example of the team’s creativity. Combined with a Netflix docuseries, live coverage of the events, custom sponsor activations, and smart, well-researched messaging, Grant’s submission was on a different level. Wichita East’s Messi Match for Hope was a solid, professional campaign—but it couldn’t match the depth, originality, and purpose-driven focus Grant brought to the table. They’re moving on to the finals with a well-earned win.
Congrats to Grant High School for a standout case study and a spot in the Championship Round!
🏆 Championship Stakes: History on the Line
This year’s final has major historical implications.
- No school has ever won both the Case Study Tournament and the SCC Fantasy Football Competition in the same year — but Flower Mound High School has a chance to make history.
- The winner of this year’s final will also claim their third SCC competition trophy, joining Blacksburg High School and Green Run High School as the only schools to hit that mark.
- Grant High School has two championships under their belt (both from Fantasy Football), but a case study tournament title would add a new type of trophy to their collection.
- Flower Mound, meanwhile, enters the final with one Fantasy Football title (this year) and a Case Study Tournament win from 2017, the inaugural year of the event.
No matter who comes out on top, some history will be made in this year’s championship!
2025 SportsBiz Madness Case Study Tournament Bracket
