University of Montevallo’s Stephens College of Business Sales Team Earns Top Finish at National “Selling with the Bulls” Competition

March 19, 2026

The University of Montevallo’s Stephens College of Business Sales Team earned a fourth-place overall finish in Flight 2 at the prestigious Selling with the Bulls Intercollegiate Sales Competition, hosted by the University of South Florida Muma College of Business.

Widely regarded as the “toughest test in sales education,” the competition featured 168 student competitors representing 38 universities across 25 states. The Stephens College Sales Team was founded just one year ago by four students seeking to expand experiential learning opportunities on campus. The program has since grown to 12 members and will host its first internal sales competition on April 17.

The team was led by Dr. Gary Johnson, a professor of marketing at UM.

“I am very proud of the hard work of our student team and the results they generated both individually and as a group,” Johnson said. “Our team’s success is a reflection of the high caliber of students we have in Stephens College and the value of our classroom experience.”

The competition includes three pre-event rounds where students compete prior to their on-site competition at USF. The students then traveled to Tampa to compete in a two-day competition that begins with five rounds of networking conversations. On the second day of competition, the students have a phone call session to schedule the appointment with the client. Then, the students have an in-person discovery visit followed by the last round of the formal sales presentation.

Representing the Stephens College of Business were Adam Bryant, Ariyah Ellis, Emma Slay and Grant Schnopp, all first-time competitors. Despite limited competition experience, the team delivered an impressive performance against some of the nation’s top collegiate sales programs.

“Competing alongside so many talented students pushed me to think strategically, adapt quickly and sharpen my consultative selling skills,” Slay said.

Ellis earned three individual honors, including fourth place overall, Winner’s Circle recognition and second place in Networking. Bryant also secured third place in the Voicemail competition.

“This experience strengthened my confidence and reinforced that this is only the beginning,” Ellis said.

The Stephens College of Business offers a sales concentration within the marketing major. The Sales Team is open to all Stephens College students and provides hands-on experience through real-world sales case studies. The team helps students develop critical communication and relationship-building skills while networking with industry professionals and peer institutions nationwide.

To learn more about the marketing major at Montevallo, visit montevallo.edu/marketing