The Bateman National Case Study Competition
About the Competition
The Bateman Competition, founded by Carroll J. Bateman in 1973, is PRSSA’s premier national case study competition for public relations and communications majors. Students are challenged to apply classroom education and internship experiences to create and implement a full public relations campaign. The focus of the competition is to creatively and strategically implement a campaign that strives to solve a local issue in the community with a partnering client.
More than 75 collegiate teams enter the competition each year, giving students real-world experience that can translate to resume references, portfolio samples and even jobs. After an extensive judging process, three finalists are chosen to present their campaigns to the client, who reserves the rights to all ideas presented.
About the UF Bateman Team
The UF Bateman Team is unlike any other course offered in the College of Journalism and Communications as it matches theory with practice. It is the most prestigious course offered in the J-School, with its own memorial of Bateman victories proudly displayed at the entrance of the J-School building.
Over the past 10 years, the UF Bateman Team has gained national recognition by placing top 15 in the nation. Additionally, UF’s team has been named one of three national finalists many times the last ten years, proceeding to competitive presentations in New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Minneapolis. UF’s team placed first in the competition in 2011, 2014, 2023 and 2025 and placed second in 2012, 2015, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
If you have any questions about this program or are looking to become an ambassador for this year’s Bateman team, please email Bateman's faculty advisor, Christine Bucan, at c.bucan@ufl.edu.
2024 First Place: Embrace The Hyphen
The UF CommuniGATORS claimed first place with their “Embrace the Hyphen” campaign for Culturs, a global multicultural magazine focused on celebrating culturally fluid communities including immigrants, refugees, mixed race and multicultural individuals. Their campaign reached 65K+ residents, received 15K+ social media impressions and generated 450K+ PSA impressions—exceeding all campaign objectives while amplifying diverse voices. Read the winning campaign here.
2023 First Place: Get The Facts Before You Act
The UF CommuniGATORS won first place for their campaign “Get The Facts Before You Act,” in partnership with the News Literacy Project. They researched misinformation in Gainesville, especially its effects on Black, Latino and rural communities, executing a multi-tactic campaign including 1,000+ pledge signers, 27K+ social media impressions, 17 media hits across TV, radio and digital, and a widespread push to build news-literacy tools for everyday citizens. Read the winning campaign here.
