BSCI Competition Teams Provide Real World Experience

Five people in safety vests and helmets stand at a construction site, talking and observing the area; two vests are labeled “VISITOR.”.

Each year, the McWhorter School of Building Science (BSCI) prepares its students for an intense and rewarding competition season—a defining part of the student experience.

Supported by generous industry partners who help fund travel and entry fees, Auburn’s competition teams spend months preparing for national and international events that challenge them to apply classroom knowledge to real-world construction problems. While the program has participated in competitions for over 30 years, their presence and impact continue to grow.

In the 2025-2026 academic year, Auburn students will compete in nearly 20 events across the U.S. and abroad from Dublin, Ireland to Greenville, S.C. The categories span roofing, electrical, finance and risk management, design-build, heavy civil, commercial, preconstruction and project management. Each competition demands a unique blend of technical skills teamwork and strategic thinking.

Six people sit around a table with laptops and papers in a wood-paneled room, looking at the camera and working together.
Students gather to review project briefs and prepare for their upcoming presentations.
Five construction workers in safety gear stand together in front of a building site scaffolded with signs reading fifty fenchurch, keltbray, and MULTIPLEX in an urban area.
The competition circuit allowed teams to visit active construction sites in the UK like the Fifty Fenchurch College in London.

Preparation is rigorous. Students visit active construction sites in Atlanta or Birmingham to understand project conditions, meet with contractors and observe field practices. They participate in workshops led by industry speakers who walk them through real scenarios and problem-solving approaches. Teams also run mock competitions—working under time constraints with past competition files—to simulate the competition experience. Presentations in front of industry panels allow teams to refine their delivery and receive candid feedback.

Associate Professor and competition coach Wes Collins said this hands-on preparation is key.

“They get to hear what it’s like doing construction in the real world from industry participants,” Collins said. “The lightbulbs go off—they see that what they learn in the classroom applies in the real world.”

Competitions also open doors. One alternate, senior Isaac Anderton, secured an internship from Baker Concrete Construction when he was just a freshman, after stepping in last-minute and impressing company representatives. Graduate students, too, often earn positions with firms—like Michaela Robinson ‘19, who is now a project manager at Clark Construction Group in Nashville—through the prestigious ASC Region 6/7 competition in Reno, Nevada.

Three people stand at the front of a room; one woman is speaking while two colleagues listen. A screen displays a presentation slide titled Emerald Oaks.
Competition teams are given a project scenario and use their construction education, teamwork and communication skills to present their solution to the judges.
Five people wearing safety vests, helmets, gloves, and boots stand on a high-rise construction site with a city skyline in the background.
Students from the ASC Region 8 team visited the Finsbury project in London with Professor Paul Holley.

For Auburn’s BSCI students, competitions are more than contests—they are catalysts for learning, confidence-building and launching successful careers.

A group of six people stands presenting in front of a screen to four seated individuals in a conference room setting.
The Design Build team at ASC Region 2, coached by Senior Lecturer Bob Muir, took home first place, and one team member, Owen Nichols, was recognized with second place in the alternate competition.
A group of eight people, four standing and four kneeling, hold glass awards and pose in front of construction company banners at an indoor event.
Associate Architecture Professor Gorham Bird (right) coached the second place design-build team, which was a joint effort with Liverpool John Moores University.

Keep reading to see how the competition teams placed in 2025.

Coached by Senior Lecturer Bob Muir (third from the right), the Design Build team won first place at ASC Region 2 in Greenville, South Carolina.
Coached by Senior Lecturer Bob Muir (third from the right), the Design Build team won first place at ASC Region 2 in Greenville, South Carolina.

ASC Region 2 (Greenville, South Carolina)

  • Design Build team, Coach: Bob Muir  |  FIRST PLACE  |  SECOND PLACE in Alternate Competition: Owen Nichols
  • Commercial team, Coach: Anoop Sattineni  |  THIRD PLACE
  • Pre-Construction team, Coaches: Wes Collins, Alex Adolf, Lauren Redden  |  THIRD PLACE
  • Graduate team, Coaches: Wes Collins, Shadi Alathamneh  |  SECOND PLACE

ASC Region 8 (Dublin, Ireland)

  • CM-QS joint team with Liverpool John Moores University, Coach: Hunter McGonagill  |  SECOND PLACE
  • CM-QS joint team, Coaches: Paul Holley, Richard Burt  |  THIRD PLACE
  • Design Build joint team with Liverpool John Moores University, Coach: Wes Collins  |  SECOND PLACE  |  BEST PRESENTER: Olivia Fontaine
  • Design Build joint team with TU Dublin, Coach: Alan Bugg  |  FIRST PLACE
  • Project Management joint team with TU Dublin, Coach: Drew Yantis  |  SECOND PLACE

See more in:
Student Competitions, Student Experience

Related people:
Wesley Collins, Richard Burt, Drew Yantis, Hunter McGonagill, Paul Holley, Alexander Adolf, Lauren Redden, Bob Muir, Anoop Sattineni, Alan Bugg