Stetson business students normally find themselves at competitions across the country taking home big wins but this time they are hosting the inaugural Collegiate Sales Management Invitational (CSMI) Oct. 22-24 for top students across the United States and Canada.

The idea for CSMI emerged from Stetson’s discussions with industry sales executives and sales faculty from universities across the country. While many outstanding competitions focus on professional sales skills, participants consistently identified a gap in opportunities for students to demonstrate sales management competencies.

“Students have many opportunities to showcase their selling skills, but far fewer chances to demonstrate the leadership, coaching and decision-making abilities essential to successful sales management,” said John Riggs, DBA, professor of practice in marketing at Stetson’s School of Business Administration and the founding executive director of the Centurion Sales Program. “We saw an opportunity to fill that gap by developing the Collegiate Sales Management Invitational, drawing on our extensive sales management curriculum.

“Given that our students are already embedded in developing these skills through our capstone experiences, we decided to focus this year on offering an exceptional and intensive experience to visiting schools only,” said Riggs. “Our students will likely compete in the future, but for now we felt it would be beneficial to eliminate any possible perception of a home-field advantage as we develop the foundation for the competition.”

The competition’s objective is for participants to leave with a clear understanding of their readiness to step into leadership roles and, perhaps even more importantly, with a personal development roadmap that will help them continue growing as future sales leaders.

Presented by Brown & Brown of Daytona Beach, the competition provides students with the opportunity to apply real-world sales and leadership skills through case studies and role-playing scenarios while showcasing their ability to strategize, lead teams and communicate effectively.

“Young sales professionals are being tapped earlier than ever to step into leadership roles, a trend that requires new capabilities,” said Riggs. “The Collegiate Sales Management Invitational gives them a dynamic and immersive environment where they can practice decision‑making and see the impact of those choices in real time. We’re genuinely honored to welcome exceptional students from across North America to Stetson. Their energy, talent and ambition elevate this event, and we’re proud to help accelerate their path toward becoming the next generation of sales leaders.”

The invitational aligns with broader investments in Stetson’s sales education program. The university recently announced a $20+ million investment in academics that includes expanding the successful Centurion Sales Program with a new sales accelerator initiative. The sales accelerator program is designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world sales performance by providing students with hands-on training, industry mentorship and experiential learning opportunities. By partnering with leading organizations, the program will accelerate career readiness and strengthen connections between education and industry to help the next generation of high-performing sales professionals get ready for successful careers.

Attendees will have opportunities to network with industry professionals and potential employers while developing skills needed to succeed in dynamic sales environments. The invitational will kick off at the Rinker Welcome Center, followed by sessions at the School of Business Administration’s Lynn Business Center and the state-of-the-art Centurion Sales Labs.

On the second night of competition, Brown & Brown will host a Signature Dinner at its world headquarters on the Riverfront Esplanade in Daytona Beach, where the final four competitors will be announced. Saturday’s awards luncheon will be held in the Stetson Room on campus.

Judging criteria for each round, along with profiles of role-play candidates, are available on the CSMI website.