Thompson Rivers University’s (TRU) MBA Games team delivered a standout performance at the 10th annual BC MBA Games, held Oct. 24 to 26 at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo, B.C. Competing against teams from across the province, TRU achieved its goal of strong academic improvement, sharing second place overall in academics with VIU and earning third place in spirit.
The BC MBA Games bring together students from leading business schools across the province to test their skills in three key categories — academic, athletic and spirit — through a mix of case competitions, physical challenges and community-building events. This year’s event featured five participating universities: Simon Fraser University (SFU), Vancouver Island University (VIU), University Canada West (UCW), the University of British Columbia (UBC) and TRU.
SFU captured the overall championship title and will host the 2026 games.
Academic and spirit success
TRU’s MBA team earned strong results in the academic stream — the area they set out to improve most this year. The team placed first in the take home case and third in the live case, securing second place overall in the academic category.
In the spirit competition, TRU continued to impress with creativity and teamwork, winning first place for their trailer/dance performance and earning third in both fundraising campaign and mystery game contest, finishing third overall.
While the team was disappointed it did not place in the athletics category as it had last year, the students competing in the athletic events put in a valiant effort in both the dodgeball and canoe racing competitions.
John McDonald, TRU faculty coach and sessional instructor in the Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics, praised the team’s dedication and growth:
“This year’s team showed exceptional focus and determination. They set out to improve their academic performance and absolutely delivered — taking first place in one of the toughest case competitions of the weekend. Their collaboration, professionalism and enthusiasm made us all proud.”
Team co-captain Souvik Das reflected on the experience: “Over the past year, as we have built our team and brand from the ground up, we have made significant progress. Last year, we excelled in athletics and spirit at both the BC and National MBA Games, though academics remained a challenge.
“This year, with clear goals and purpose, the results at the 2025 BC MBA Games reflect how far we have come as a team and as future business leaders.”
Co-captain Jesal Thakkar emphasized the team’s spirit and resilience: “The energy we brought to the spirit events reflected our bond as a team. Balancing academics, creativity and competition was challenging but incredibly rewarding.”
Meet the team
The 2025 TRU MBA Games team was led by McDonald, Gaglardi faculty member Trent Tucker and co-captains Das and Thakkar.
Supporting the team were fundraising lead Sagar Poojari, athletics leads Naman Bhardwaj and Rohit Kainth, and social media coordinator Chai Chin Chen.
The full roster included Bhavin Dedakiya, Madhurima Das, Pratibha Patel, Arnav Mittal, Sharon Rajan, Abhinav Wadhwa, Tinotenda Mutengo, Andrew Tran, Schillaci Solomon, Amrita Kaur, Shalom Misal, Felix Obi and Glenn Imperial, whose teamwork and dedication contributed to TRU’s strong showing across all events.
About the BC MBA Games
The BC MBA Games, founded a decade ago at VIU by then-MBA students including Omar Karim, brings together graduate business students from across the province for a weekend of competition, networking and community engagement. Over the years, the Games have evolved to emphasize sustainability, collaboration and social impact, while continuing to test the strategic, athletic and creative talents of MBA students.
