MBA Games is an annual competition amongst MBA (Master of Business Administration) programs in Canada. Schools compete for the Queen's Cup in academic, athletic and spirit events over one weekend at the beginning of January. All MBA schools in Canada are welcome to participate, but are not required to do so.

History

The MBA Games began at Queen's University in 1988. The Games were held at Queen’s for the first seven editions before being hosted by McGill in 1996 and the University of Western Ontario in 1997. Every year since 1997, the Games have been hosted by various schools across the country. Generally, the winning school is given the honour of hosting the Games the following year. If the same school wins two years in a row, proposals from other schools are reviewed to determine the next host. The 2011 Games included 20 teams, the 2012 edition included 19 teams, and the 2013 edition included 22 teams (including Syracuse University from the US) making it the largest gathering ever of MBA students in Canada, which was close to 650 students.

Events

Academics

Students compete in case competitions over the two days that are judged by a pre-selected panel of judges, typically professors and industry professionals. Each school comprises teams of no more than four students (per case) to compete in case competitions covering different areas of business. The 2012 Games cases included finance, strategy, marketing, and operations respectively.

Athletics

The athletic portion of the games consists of four coed sports over two days, with two sports being played the first day and two the second. These sports are chosen by the host school and have included basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, ultimate Frisbee, curling, soccer, and inner tube water polo, among others. The 2012 Games sports included volleyball, dodge ball, ultimate Frisbee and inner tube water polo.

Spirit

Teams are judged on and score points in 'spirit' events throughout the weekend. These events are designed to promote and encourage teamwork, enthusiasm, camaraderie, and spirit from the competition's start to finish. The 2012 Games Spirit Award was based on the following: Presentation of University (Opening), MBA Jeopardy, Scavenger Hunt, Two Mystery Events, and Overall Team Spirit.

Past Queen's Cup Winners

Year Champion Host School 1988 Example Queen's University, Kingston 1989 Example Queen's University, Kingston 1990 Example Queen's University, Kingston 1991 Example Queen's University, Kingston 1992 Example Queen's University, Kingston 1993 Example Queen's University, Kingston 1994 McMaster University Queen's University, Kingston 1995 Example Queen's University, Kingston 1996 Université Laval McGill University, Montreal 1997 Saint Mary's University Ivey, University of Western Ontario, London 1998 ESG UQAM Example 1999 ESG UQAM Example 2000 Ivey, University of Western Ontario Example 2001 University of Alberta School of Business Example 2002 University of Alberta School of Business University of Alberta School of Business 2003 Schulich School of Business, York University DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University 2004 Schulich School of Business, York University Schulich School of Business, York University 2005 Université Laval Example 2006 Université Laval Example 2007 DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University University of Alberta School of Business 2008 Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton 2009 Université Laval Dalhousie University, Halifax 2010 Schulich School of Business, York University Université Laval, Québec 2011 University of Alberta School of Business Schulich School of Business, Toronto 2012 DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University University of Alberta School of Business, Edmonton 2013 Schulich School of Business, York University DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton 2014 DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University Schulich School of Business, Toronto 2015 Schulich School of Business, York University DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton 2016 DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University Schulich School of Business, Toronto 2017 Faculty of Management, Vancouver Island University Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo 2018 Schulich School of Business, York University Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Ottawa 2019 DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, Toronto 2020 DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton 2021 Schulich School of Business, York University Université Laval, Québec

Sources cited