Drury, Evangel sweep SIFE competition

Students in Free Enterprise teams at Drury and Evangel universities brought home the top two awards at the fourth annual Duel in the Desert personal finance competition, held March 2–4 in Tuscon, Ariz.

Drury SIFE placed first, receiving $4,000 and a trophy, and Evangel SIFE placed second, receiving $3,000 and a trophy. The competition drew teams from 24 schools, including Boston College, Purdue University, Colorado State University and University of Florida.

Teams were presented with a hypothetical case study about a family in financial distress. This year’s study was about a retiring husband and wife who had problems with their estate planning.

In 36 hours, each school’s four-member team had to research the situation and design a reasonable, workable and creative solution to the dilemma based on the family’s situation, economics, geography and resources. Teams presented their results to a panel of expert judges who decided which teams had resolved the family’s finances most effectively.

SIFE is a nonprofit organization active at more than 1,500 colleges worldwide.