UNT STUDENTS WIN LOGISTICS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Students from the University of North Texas Logistics and Supply Chain Management Program secured 1st place at the National Logistics Challenge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Thursday, March 27th. The team was sponsored by the Texas Logistics Education Foundation and the Center for Logistics Education and Research at the College of Business Administration.

Assistant Professor Dr. Steve Swartz accompanied the team of Kyle Cooper, Robin Ballard, Tara Mills, and Derek O’Rear. This was the first time at the competition for these students. In the last ten years, UNT students have finished very competitively at the national level, finishing 1st or 2nd seven times.

The UNT team stumbled early in the first elimination round against the University of Maryland, Michigan State University, and Pennsylvania State University, missing two questions in the first elimination round. They quickly recovered, eking out a first in the qualifiers to advance to the final round. With the pressure on after the qualifiers, the team dominated the finals with a near-perfect performance, missing only the second to last question to defeat the University of Akron, Auburn University, and Grand Valley State by only 5 points out of 150.

The National Logistics Challenge is a College Bowl-type competition among the top logistics programs nationally. The competition included teams from the top logistics programs in the nation, including Michigan State University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Maryland, Auburn University, the University of Akron, Grand Valley State University, Niagara University, and Shippensburgh University. The competition, in its 18th year, is hosted by the national professional organization for logistics and supply chain management, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and the Pittsburgh Roundtable.

The University of North Texas Logistics and Supply Chain Management Program is in its tenth year of existence and is currently the seventh largest logistics program nationally. It was recently ranked 18th nationally in a recent academic and industry survey. It offers degrees and specialization options in logistics and supply chain management at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.