[283] MTSU Construction Management Technology Team Lands Second Place in National Competition

Release date: Jan. 27, 2011

News and Media Relations contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Construction Management contact: Dr. David Hatfield, 615-898-2781
or dhatfiel@mtsu.edu

MTSU Construction Management Technology Team Lands Second Place in National Competition;
Female Leader Wright Guides Group to Runner-up Showing

(MURFREESBORO) — MTSU’s Construction Management Technology team placed second out of 43 teams at the recent National Association of Homebuilders Student Chapters Residential Construction Management Competition in Orlando, Fla.

Team members include Kaitlyn Wright (team leader/marketing and sales) of Murfreesboro; Brandon Castle, (green building) of Smyrna; Andrew Ethridge (estimating) of Brentwood; Maverick Green (land developing) of Shelbyville; and Mike Sandman (finance) of Murfreesboro.

“I could not be more proud to be associated with the members of this team and everyone who helped us,” said Wright, the first woman to be selected MTSU’s team leader and third female overall to participate on one of the MTSU squads. “The win was a great reward for a lot of hard work and will help keep our program recognized as one of the top programs in the country.”

MTSU finished runner-up to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, with perennial power Brigham Young University placing third. MTSU won the competition in 2007 and finished second in 2009. MTSU has finished in the top-10 nine out of the last 11 years it has competed in the national.

The NAHB Student Chapters Residential Construction Management Competition is one of the highlights at the
annual International Builders’ Show, which was attended by 47,000-plus builders and associates from around the world.

The competition gives students the opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom to a real construction company by completing a project management proposal, said Dr. David Hatfield, construction management programs director and professor.

MTSU’s comprehensive proposal was submitted to the competition chairman two weeks before the event, Hatfield said, adding, that during the convention students presented the proposal to five executives who acted as judges in front of an audience. A question-and-answer period followed, with judges asking specific questions about the proposal.

The 143-page project manual proposal included market analysis, demographics, scheduling, estimating, infrastructure, plans, cash flow and a management approach for the project, Hatfield said. Each team member spent more than 300 hours developing the project manual proposal for Sedgewick Homes in North Carolina.

“The Sedgewick Homes-proposed project manual and the team presentation showed teamwork and dedication, which are major requirements in the construction program and industry,” Hatfield said.

“Our Construction Management students once again have earned our respect and pride in their accomplishments,” said Dr. Walter Boles, Engineering Technology Department chair. “Their second-place performance is a great example of teamwork, not only within the student team, but with our industry advisers and faculty as well. Our students, faculty and industry advisers all deserve recognition to be able to successfully compete with any other program in the nation.”

MTSU’s Construction Management program is affiliated with the Rutherford County Home Builders Association, Home Builders Association of Tennessee and the National Home Builders Student Association.

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In brief …

MTSU’s five-member Construction Management Technology team placed second in the recent national competition in Orlando. Kaitlyn Wright, the first woman to lead an MTSU team and third female to participate with an MTSU team in the nationals, led teammates Brandon Castle, Andrew Ethridge, Maverick Green and Mike Sandman to the runner-up spot behind Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. MTSU earned first place in 2007 and was second in 2009. Dr. David Hatfield serves as program director and professor/adviser to the group.

Editors: A digital photo of MTSU’s winning team can be e-mailed upon request. To obtain, contact Randy Weiler in MTSU News and Media Relations by calling 615-898-5616.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree — the only one in Tennessee — as a model program. MTSU recently unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.