They call it the Moneyball effect.
Facing elimination from the JDC West student business competition after two years of bottom-three finishes, University of Northern B.C captains Carlie Whitwam and Brody Wicki had to rethink their strategy.
"It was really make or break for us," said Whitwam. Three years in a row in the bottom meant UNBC would be out of the competition for five years.
So, they turned to the numbers. It worked for the Oakland A's in 2002, after all.
"They had the lowest budget and they still managed - by changing what they were doing - to come fairly close to the top," said Whitwam of the baseball team that inspired a book and film adaptation called Moneyball.
UNBC is by far the smallest of the 12 universities to participate in the annual undergraduate business competition. And yet this year, they came back with four trophies: first in marketing, participation and fundraising and second in finance.
"We basically walked into this year knowing full well what the odds were. Statistically speaking we shouldn't be able to perform with the calibre that those schools have," said Whitwam, but by taking a close look at how every single point was handed out during the competition, UNBC could beat the odds.
"If it was all by numbers, we would be last place every year," added Wicki.
"(Moneyball) was our internal motivation throughout the entire year. We're going to find a way to win with programs we have, the amount of people we have. We know that within the school we can still find a team that has the knowledge and experience to win.
"And we did."
The two 21-year-old captains - with the help of two program alumni affectionately known as godparents, a faculty advisor, a head coach and a host of Prince George industry professionals - completely revamped UNBC's strategy.
"We decided to work much, much smarter, so we studied very hard," said Whitwam.
They analyzed the videos of every team and the breakdown of points handed out during presentations.
In the academic portion, students are given case studies and three hours to find a business solution and prepare a 20-minute presentation to a panel of intimidating industry professionals.
UNBC used to spend half the time presenting analysis, but Wicki said a closer examination showed that only garnered 20 per cent of the points. So, that's how much time they gave it in presentations this year.
"It was the simple changes like that," he said.
Fundraising was the team's most impressive feat. UNBC raised more than $127,000, a total more than all of the other universities combined.
Faculty advisor Muhammad Rahman said that achievement represented "the northern way of doing things."
"I think it just shows that northern people are more giving. I was blown away by the generosity of the people and the businesses that donated."
The turning point for the team came during a Spirit of the North fundraiser, during the Festival of Trees gala.
The students showed up with almost $10,000, presented the cheque and challenged the audience to match the donation.
"From there the hands just kept going up and the amount just kept going up," Whitwam said. "We knew that the people in that room would be willing to give but we had no idea it would be to that calibre."
They raised $115,000 that night.
Wicki was getting text updates from Whitwam as the pot kept growing
"The excitement was incredible. What a night," he said.
The competition features four categories: 10 academic challenges, debate, athletics and a social component. Teams are also rated on overall participation and all of that works toward a final total, which determines where they rank.
"It was really make or break for us," Whitwam said. "We don't have final results yet but we're very, very confident that we'll be around next year."
