The Paul R. Carter College of Business Administration’s Master of Business Administration program at Harding University progressed to the final round of the 13th annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup, a statewide business plan competition for college students. This is the first time a team from the University’s MBA program has placed.

The DWRGC is an annual competition hosted by the Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation that seeks to encourage an entrepreneurial spirit among graduate and undergraduate students and recognize them for their initiative and creativity.

In February, after spending months to develop a brand and product and prepare a 40-page professional business plan, the five-member team submitted their entry into a pool of nine submissions from five universities throughout the state. The business plan included a product/service description, marketing plan, operating plan and pro forma financial statements.

March 21 the team progressed to the next round of the competition, which will take place April 4-5 at Hotel Chancellor in Fayetteville, Ark. There, they will make oral presentations for a group of volunteer business executive judges.

“We are truly excited to have our first MBA graduate team qualify for the finals,” said Dr. Al Frazier, faculty sponsor and associate dean of the College of Business Administration. “They have an exciting product that will help save money, health care costs and potentially lives. We are very proud of their accomplishment and work to this point.”

Harding University’s MBA program is designed with the needs of working professionals in mind and includes a flexible classroom structure comprising weeknights, weekends and online classes. In addition to having six entry points each year and four areas of specialization, the program also has an accelerated track that can be completed in 12 months. The two ground locations of the program include Searcy and North Little Rock, Ark.