10th Annual Cupid's Cup Business Competition Now Open

Kevin Plank, UMD-Hosted Event Welcomes Top Student Entrepreneurs to Apply

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Nov 03, 2014, 11:47 ET

COLLEGE PARK, Md. and BALTIMORE, Nov. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Applications are now being accepted for the 2015 Cupid's Cup Business Competition, presented by Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank and the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. In the 10^th annual competition, the top student entrepreneurs from across the country and around the world can compete for $115,000 in total cash prizes.

The application deadline is Jan. 5, 2015. The final competition is set for Wednesday, April 22, 2015, at UMD's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Previous Cupid's Cup winners and finalists include startups that have: introduced in-helmet sensors to help identify in-game football player concussions (Brain Sentry); produced an award-winning party game among a product line in Target and specialty gaming stores (North Star Games); and leveraged a consumer advice-clothing line hybrid into a presence both online and in Lord & Taylor, Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom, Pacific Sunwear and more than 500 retailers worldwide (Crooked Monkey).

A panel of judges will narrow the applicant pool to six finalists in a semifinal competition round to be held at Under Armour's Baltimore headquarters in March. In April, those finalists will pitch their businesses to Plank and a panel of judges in front of more than 1,000 attendees at the final competition. The day's events also will include a business and innovation showcase highlighting UMD student and alumni startups.

Applicants will compete for a transformative prize package including:

Total cash prizes of $115,000, with $75,000 for the grand prize winner;
Coaching from a team of successful entrepreneurs; and
The prestigious Cupid's Cup.

"The goal of Cupid's Cup is to identify and reward students who have the entrepreneurial drive and conviction to take a risk and start a business while they are young," said Plank, founder and chairman of Cupid's Cup. "In 2012, we took the competition to the national stage, and I'm more passionate than ever about finding the best student entrepreneurs in the world. I want to help another young innovator reach the next level with crucial funding and my personal help making a business connection."

Cupid's Cup was inspired by a rose delivery business Plank started as a UMD student. As a member of the football team, he wasn't permitted to have an outside job, so he turned to entrepreneurship as a way to pursue his business interests. Plank worked with the university's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship to create and lead a business competition to foster similar student entrepreneurship. The Dingman Center, part of the Robert H. Smith School of Business, provides students with opportunities to pitch their business ideas, receive feedback from experienced entrepreneurs and access to funding.

"We appreciate this partnership with Kevin Plank enabling the Dingman Center to showcase creative and emerging startups from around the world," said Alex Triantis, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. The Cupid's Cup competition illustrates our commitment to fostering innovation to drive economic growth."

The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at accredited colleges and universities, or recent alumni of those institutions under the age of 30. Applicants must be running a legal business entity that has generated at least $5,000 in revenue or demonstrated proof of traction. There is no fee to apply.

The Dingman Center will hold a webinar information session about the competition on November 19, 2014.

More information about Cupid's Cup is available at www.cupidscup.umd.edu.

About Kevin Plank
As a special teams captain for the UMD Terrapins football program in 1995, Plank was tired of having to change his sweat-soaked shirts over and over again throughout his two-a-day practices. His frustration led to an inspiration for a better kind of T-shirt; one that could wick sweat and keep athletes cool, dry, and light instead of overheated, drenched, and weighed down. Upon graduating from Maryland in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in business administration, Plank started to turn his idea into a reality and, as a result, began redefining the way athletes dress. After 18 years of outfitting athletes with the world's most innovative performance apparel, footwear, and accessories, Plank now oversees a company with over 8,000 employees worldwide and total revenues expected to cross $3 billion by the end of 2014. True to his vision in 1995, Plank and Under Armour remain committed to empowering athletes everywhere.

About the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 47 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.8 billion operating budget, secures $500 million annually in external research funding and recently completed a $1 billion fundraising campaign. For more information about the University of Maryland, visit www.umd.edu.

About the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship
The Dingman Center has been at the forefront of entrepreneurship education and practice for more than 25 years. The Center's primary activities include helping students build their ventures, creating experiential learning opportunities and providing regional entrepreneurs with access to capital. Within the region, the Center operates Dingman Center Angels, the area's most active angel investor network with more than 40 members and more than 30 companies funded since 2005. More information is available at www.rhsmith.umd.edu/dingman.

About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, MS in business, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia. More information is available at http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/.

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SOURCE University of Maryland