Logistics
Important Deadlines - Universities
- University registration (by invitation, see invitation types). Registration is $150/student (and any extra faculty) for full access universities
and $125/student (and any extra faculty) for development universities. Full access
universities are encouraged to bring alternates and peer coaches. - August 2026
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UTISC is onsite. Full access universities who can no longer participate onsite will have their competitor(s) replaced with full access university alternates or development universities who want to upgrade to full access. The alternate lottery and upgrade of development universities will only take place if the full access university does not have any alternates of the needed division or if their entire team cannot be onsite. The upgrade is prioritized for universities with an undergraduate degree that has a minor (or certificate, etc) or major in professional sales. Students who compete via the alternate lottery will have their points (role play and engagement) and travel reimbursements calculated separately. A full access university who can no longer participate onsite can still have their students do the social media competition.
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- University attendee registration and resumes - January 29, 2027
- Full Access - 1 junior competitor, 1 freshman/sophomore competitor, alternate(s), and peer coach(es). Competitors for role plays cannot be former UTISC finalists from the gold bracket.
- Development - at least 1 learner who is a junior, sophomore, or freshman
- Hotel and flight reservations - January 29, 2027
- Student development block preference survey - January 31, 2027
- Reimbursement requests - March 31, 2027
University Registration - Full Access
University Registration - Development
Important Deadlines - Sponsors
- Logo (300 dpi in jpg or eps) - January 15, 2027 (by December 31 preferable)
- Ad (300 dpi in jpg or eps, Glass Sponsors and higher) - January 15, 2027 (by December 31 preferable)
- Development block preference survey - January 31, 2027
- Sponsor attendee registration - January 31, 2027
- A team of 6 or more people is recommended so that students and sponsors both get the best experience and value. Sponsor attendees will serve as judges and also get to interact with top and available sales students during the coaching/interviewing sessions (Blue Sponsors and higher), buying, Career Fair, and much more (coordinating your team). UTISC has 16 connection opportunities! We recommend a blend of Sales and HR professionals with more on the sales side to better connect with these top sales students.
- Check - January 31, 2027
- Job postings and event flyers - January 31, 2027
- Social media competition winner to ESSPS Director (Blue Sponsors and higher) - March 4, 2027
Development Block Preference Survey
Important Deadlines - UTISC
Most deliverables will be in Launchpad
- Website and first wave university invitations to universities - May 2026
- Save the date to sponsors - May/June 2026
- Planning checklist, attendee registration link, and development topic preference link to sponsors - November 2026
- Demo kit, access to product sponsor training platform, prospect profile for role plays, attendee registration link, and hotel links to universities - late November/early December 2026
- Resumes to sponsors (all but Introductory Sponsors) - week of February 8, 2027
- Faculty and student contact sheet to sponsors - week of February 8, 2027
- Development block topic assignments and assignment schedule preview to sponsors - week of February 8, 2027
- Career Fair layout - week of February 8, 2027
- Role Play Schedule - week of February 15, 2027
- Assignment Schedule (shows Judges, Buyers, Coaching/Interviewing Pairings, Development Blocks, Play-by-Play, and Social Flight School) - week of February 15, 2027
- Private profile only to those playing buyer (other sponsor attendees will see public profile) - week of February 15, 2027
- Grubhub setup and calendar invites with workflow and supporting links/docs for each portion of the UTISC - week of February 15, 2027 (online participants only)
- Announce social media competition winners, engagement winners, and top 10 teams. Send final results report (role play, engagement, total, custom engagement). Custom engagement portion sent to sponsors only and customized by sponsor. - March 5, 2027
Resources and Materials
Access to Launchpad/Teams is for registered attendees and key university and sponsor contacts. You will receive an email from Microsoft Teams that you have been granted access to the team (ie: Launchpad). The following channels are helpful when you view their Files/Shared tab. Please note that access to each channel is based on your role.
- General - Individual Assignment Schedules, Comprehensive Assignment Schedule, CARLOS link, program booklet, career fair layout, play-by-play folder with rookie and all star videos, and preparation folder with sales skill videos, judge eval sheet, and prospect profile. Comprehensive Assignment Schedule has a tab for counts and names of students in development blocks (DB), coaching/interviewing sessions (CI), play-by-play (PBP), and social flight school (SFS). Role Play Schedule is the back page of your Individual Assignment Schedule and is in CARLOS. Results and pictures shared here after the event.
- Role Play Archive - videos from previous year
- Sponsor Info - sponsor contacts, company information + job postings + event flyers, and International Paper solution training
- Student Resumes - resumes for UTISC students and select workers and university attendee contact list
- Buyer Preparation - private details for the prospect profile and best practices video
Agenda
- Thursday - evening welcome, meet teams, orientation, and social flight school
- Friday - role play competition, career fair, development blocks, coaching/interviewing session, and evening entertainment
- Saturday - role play competition finals, play-by-play, and awards banquet that will wrap by mid-afternoon
Travel Information and Reimbursements - Universities
Hotel accommodations for the full access universities will be at the Hampton Inn and Courtyard Marriott on Secor located minutes from the UToledo main campus and immediately off of I-475 (right next to Whole Foods and Texas Roadhouse). Please use the custom hotel booking link in the email from the UTISC Director or call 419-214-5555 (Hampton Inn) or 419-724-0444 (Courtyard Marriott) to confirm your rooms and ask for the UToledo Invitational Sales Competition block.
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- Hotel reservations in the UTISC block at the UTISC approved rate need to be made by each university by January 29, 2027 to guarantee space and UToledo reimbursing the room. UToledo is reimbursing for 2-3 guest rooms per full access university for Thursday night and Friday night. Incidentals, extra nights, and booking outside of the UTISC block/rate are the responsibility of the guest. The rooms that are covered will be based on the mix of who is competing (student competitors of the same gender are required to share a room) and will include 1 faculty room.
- The hotel block includes standard rooms and suites. The suites are very spacious, and some of the suites have 2 queens and 1 sleeper sofa. If you are bringing alternates that match the genders of your competitors, we suggest the suites so you can avoid paying for the extra room(s).
- The Hampton Inn and Courtyard Marriott have free hot breakfast daily for our UTISC guests and free high speed internet/wireless in the guest rooms and lobby.
- The Hampton Inn and Courtyard Marriott will provide space on Saturday to hold luggage after check-out.
Reimbursements to full access universities will be made for airfare (2 competitors and 1 faculty) OR mileage (1 vehicle). Airfare booked after the deadline will be reimbursed on a sliding scale.
Airfare must be economy/coach arriving at the Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) and booked by January 29, 2027. The Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) has better service and is less than 1 hour from the hotel and UToledo main campus.
Mileage will be reimbursed for one vehicle for those full access universities who are only driving and will be based on the government rate.
Full access universities that are flying may also submit for reimbursement of driving travel in the form of a rental vehicle or Uber/Lyft/Taxi with a limit of $200 (limit of $270 if the university brought alternates). If submitting the Uber/Lyft/Taxi route, we will only reimburse for one round trip each day between the main campus and hotel (plus one round trip DTW and entertainment); any tips cannot exceed foundation policy of 18%.
Hotel accommodations for development universities will be at the Courtyard Marriott on Secor located minutes from the UToledo main campus and immediately off of I-475 (right next to Texas Roadhouse). Please use the custom hotel booking link in the email from the UTISC Director or call 419-724-0444 to confirm your rooms and ask for the UToledo Invitational Sales Competition block.
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- Hotel reservations in the UTISC block at the UTISC approved rate need to be made by each university by January 29, 2027 to guarantee space
- The hotel block includes mostly standard rooms.
Reimbursements are only for full access universities and are based on having students engaged throughout UTISC. For complete details, please read this entire page and the section on engagement points as there are deadlines and other stipulations. Missing students during any portion of the UTISC will impact reimbursements and team awards as will faculty coaches who miss judging.
Students who end up competing via the alternate lottery will have their points (role play and engagement) and travel reimbursements calculated separately.
REIMBURSEMENT REQUESTS - submit by March 31, 2027
Getting to Main Campus and Parking
Please be mindful of time and make sure to get to campus in advance of role playing, judging, buying, working the career fair, going to development blocks, etc.
Register your license plate before you arrive using the event specific parking registration link that was emailed in advance. Once your permit has been entered, you may park in the approved lots (1N, 1S, and 10) during the 3 day event. License plates that are not registered or don't have their license plate visible to the drive aisle so it can be scanned by parking patrol as well as parking in unapproved lots will be ticketed; appeals are unlikely to be approved. Please see our Event Parking page for further details.