Texas State University captures first, third places in national PR competition

Students from Texas State University scored a historic win on May 5 by capturing first place in the national Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Bateman Case Study Competition. This is the first time Texas State University has earned the national title in the competition’s 43-year history. 

The university had two student teams compete for top honors, marking the first time in two decades that two teams from the same university have competed in the judging finals. 

TXST’s AdvoCats won first place, and TXST’s StarCats earned third place after advancing to the final judging round and presenting their campaigns to a panel of judges on May 5. The teams competed against Montclair State University for first-, second-, and third-place honors. 

Held since 1973, the Bateman Competition challenges students to design and implement strategic public relations campaigns for a national client. This year’s client was ACCESS Newswire, a press release distribution and communications platform. This year’s competition drew 46 entries representing 35 universities from across the country.

“Having attended the Ready, Set, Launch event hosted by the AdvoCats, I’m not surprised by their national win,” said TXST President Kelly Damphousse. “Their hard work and creativity were on full display."

"This achievement is not only a significant accomplishment for the students involved, but also a testament to the strength of our public relations program. Our School of Journalism and Mass Communication continues to produce talented, career-ready Bobcats who are prepared to lead in the industry.”

The AdvoCats team captured first place in the competition with their Future Forward campaign, which motivated college communities and professionals in Central Texas to utilize ACCESS Newswire as a tool for career readiness and strategic communications. In February, they hosted “Ready, Set, Launch,” a large-scale career-readiness event held at the university in partnership with TXST Career Services. The event featured interactive career-readiness booths, a panel featuring industry experts, and a keynote by Damphousse. Event partners included the Better Business Bureau serving the Heart of Texas, the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce, PRSA Austin, the TXST School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the TXST Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 

“Being recognized as a top three team in the country was surreal, but having our Future Forward campaign emerge as the national winner in the final judging round of the Bateman competition made every long day and late night worth it,” said Shauné Smith, account executive for the AdvoCats. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see our work resonate on a national level, and it pushes us even further to continue making an impact as we launch our careers in public relations.” 
 

The StarCats team created the Culture in Common campaign to amplify the importance of storytelling and increase adoption of the ACCESS Newswire platform among students, professors and communication departments in the Texas State University System. They hosted the Culture in Common storytelling competition, which invited students to share personal narratives reflecting the experiences and traditions that make their campus culture unique. 

“It has been remarkable to witness the creativity and strategic thinking of these remarkable students as they transformed their ideas into impactful campaigns for ACCESS Newswire through months of research, planning and execution,” said Debra Price, assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at TXST and the faculty adviser for the Bateman teams. 

“Winning first place in the Bateman Case Study Competition is an extraordinary accomplishment and having two Texas State teams finish in the top three makes this moment even more historic.” 

The 1st place AdvoCats team is made up of public relations students Alyssia Dodson, Isabel Maldonado, Mia Ocañas, Shauné Smith, Kayla Vargas and Amelia White. Their professional adviser is Sandy Pantlik. The students on the 3rd place StarCats team are Gabriela Garcia, Emilee Grosse, Ella Knudsen, Jenna Krause, Ceccibell Moreno and Hanna Prince. Their professional adviser is Dara Quackenbush. Price is the faculty adviser for both student teams. 

For more information on the public relations program at TXST, visit sjmc.txst.edu/programs/publicrelations.html. For full results of the 2026 Bateman Case Study Competition, go to prsa.org/prssa/scholarships-awards/bateman-competition.