Apr 18, 2026
Last week, Suzanne Bagnera brought one of 11 student teams from nine schools to the AAHOACON Collegiate Championship, and the students ran the kind of decisions real GMs deal with.
During AAHOACON 2026, where No Vacancy was the official podcast, I interviewed Suzanne Bagnera, PhD, CHA, CED about the competition and what she saw as the professor who brought the students.
🎓 Year three of the Collegiate
Championship, with teams from schools including FIU, Virginia Tech,
Grand Valley State, University of South Carolina, Cornell, Oklahoma
State, and Kennesaw
🧠Russell Partners ran an online simulation where students operated
as GMs, made decisions before the conference, then ran two more
simulated years on site
🎤 Students got pitch training, presented to judges, then moved
through top four + semifinal rounds with both Judges’ Choice and
People’s Choice awards
🏆 Judges’ Choice went to Grand Valley State; People’s Choice went
to the University of South Carolina
🎙️ Show-floor reality: PA announcements and the lost Chrysler
Pacifica keys provided the background noise
Thanks to Red Roof for sponsoring the studio space on the AAHOACON show floor.
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