OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — The RELLIS Academic Alliance Sales Team recently earned its first-ever overall team victory at the Challenger Sales Invitational, hosted at Love’s Corporate Headquarters in Oklahoma City and presented by the University of Central Oklahoma sales faculty.
Competing against 52 students from six universities—including the University of Kansas, Oklahoma State University, University of Texas–Arlington, University of Central Oklahoma, and University of Massachusetts–Lowell—the team secured the #1 Overall Team title, marking a significant milestone for the growing RELLIS Academic Alliance Sales Team.
“Our results were exciting as our students accomplished the FIRST Overall Team Win recorded for the A&M–RELLIS Sales Team,” said TAMU–Corpus Christi professor Cody Rose.
The team’s success reflects the collaborative model of the RELLIS Academic Alliance, with students from multiple partner institutions and Blinn College working together as one unified group. According to Rose, that collaboration played a key role in the team’s performance.
“It was so cool to see the upperclassmen reach out to the Blinn Business Society students to collaborate when more involvement was needed,” Rose said. “Watching the RELLIS juniors and seniors actually teach and mentor the Blinn freshmen—that was one of the coolest things for me personally.”
RELLIS students delivered standout performances throughout the competition. Stetson Zollinger earned the title of Roleplay Champion, advancing through each round and ultimately winning the final round against top competitors from Oklahoma State University, University of Massachusetts–Lowell, and University of Central Oklahoma. He was awarded a trophy, 50 points toward the team total, and $500 in prize money.
“Stetson went up against three other students and won,” Rose said. “He was awarded a trophy, 50 points toward our team total, and $500 in prize money.”
Jake Perna also earned recognition, placing third in the 90-second elevator pitch competition and receiving a trophy, $200 in prize money, and 20 points toward the team total.
In early rounds, RELLIS students dominated the field, earning four of six first-place finishes in Round 1 and three of six first-place finishes in the wildcard round. Their strong performance resulted in seven of the 12 semifinalist spots being filled by RELLIS students, with one advancing to the final round.
Students representing Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, Texas A&M University–Kingsville, Blinn College, and the Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Economics/Blinn TEAM program competed as part of the RELLIS Academic Alliance Sales Team, highlighting the strength of cross-institutional collaboration.
“Our students received countless compliments on how well prepared they were, how sharp and professional they looked, and how respectful and personable they were,” Rose said. “The comment was made during the first-round results announcement: ‘This team came ready to win.’”
Beyond competition results, students gained valuable career opportunities. Each participant received either an internship offer or job opportunity from one of more than 16 employers attending the event’s career fair, with several organizations expressing interest in becoming more involved with the RELLIS sales team.
Rose also emphasized the students’ commitment leading up to the competition.
“The two weeks leading up to the competition, they made their own practice schedule and chose to meet five days a week to prepare—on at least one occasion wrapping up well past 10 p.m.,” he said. “These students chose to spend hours of their free time doing hands-on learning and applying course concepts.”
What began as a small group of students preparing for a competition has quickly grown into a competitive and collaborative sales team at RELLIS, demonstrating the impact of experiential learning and partnership across institutions.
“I could not be happier or more proud of this group, and I could not be more excited about their futures,” Rose said. “Getting to see the collaboration between institutions and the support given to these students is genuinely a blessing and makes me feel like I’m in the right place as an educator.”
