University of Arizona wins DBIA’s 2026 student design-build competition

The University of Arizona’s Cardinal Design-Build team took first place in DBIA’s 2026 National Design-Build Student Competition, with Texas State finishing second and Florida Gulf Coast third. The win gives Arizona its fifth national top-three finish in six years and highlights a growing pipeline of design-build talent.

Why it matters: - The competition gives students hands-on experience with collaborative project delivery and the procurement process used in the design-build industry. - Arizona’s win extends a sustained stretch of national success for the university and reinforces its standing in design-build education. - Texas State’s runner-up finish underscores how quickly a new student chapter can gain traction.

What happened: - The University of Arizona’s Cardinal Design-Build team won the Design-Build Institute of America’s 2026 National Design-Build Student Competition. - DBIA announced the national champion Friday, Nov. 6, during its 2026 Design-Build Conference & Expo in Cleveland. - Texas State University’s Bobcat Builders finished second in the team’s first competition appearance. - Florida Gulf Coast University’s Whitaker Group placed third. - Arizona team member Katherine Hurst won the Best Individual Collaborator Award.

The details: - Cardinal Design-Build’s team members were Mia Dale, Lauren Harper, Katherine Hurst, Lola Money and Julia Urbanowski. - Dean Papajohn served as faculty advisor for the University of Arizona team. - Bobcat Builders included Rasmita Acharya, Anthony Breaux, Evan Mickshaw, Jakob Villarreal and Arno Wiesner, with Mithil Mazumder as faculty advisor. - Whitaker Group’s team members were Abram Brito, Alexis Figueroa-Baltazar, Alana Fleck, Jeffrey Gonzalez-Tista and Izaul Martinez, with Sushmit Sharma Bhattarai as faculty advisor. - Arizona’s finish marked the university’s fifth national top-three result in six years. - Arizona had posted two first-place and two third-place finishes over the previous five years. - Texas State approached DBIA in August about starting a student chapter and entered the competition at the same time. - Texas State won the Southwest regional competition to advance to the national final on its first attempt. - Texas State’s inaugural DBIA Student Chapter meeting in October drew more than 30 attendees. - This year’s challenge asked students to create a progressive design-build approach for a hypothetical hospital in a small rural community. - The proposed site was a former gas station with possible environmental contamination concerns. - The project started with an initial funding commitment of $8.5 million. - Students had to show how an integrated design-build team could help an inexperienced public owner plan a facility that met community healthcare needs. - The competition used a three-phase process modeled on industry procurement. - Teams first submitted responses to a Request for Qualifications. - Regional winners advanced to a national Request for Proposals round. - The top three teams then competed in person at DBIA’s annual conference. - On Nov. 5, the finalists took part in an interactive interview with a national panel of industry professionals. - Judges gave each team an additional problem to solve during the final round.

Between the lines: - Arizona’s repeat success suggests the competition has become a durable showcase for teams that can combine technical skill, teamwork and presentation under pressure. - Texas State’s strong debut suggests new chapters can move quickly from formation to national relevance when student interest is high. - The hospital scenario mirrors real-world public-sector constraints, including limited funding, site risk and the need to coordinate multiple disciplines early.

What's next: - DBIA will continue using the student competition as a recruiting and professional development platform during future conferences. - Students and schools interested in participating can find more information at student engagement and competition details. - The competition also remains a networking opportunity for students, industry professionals and potential employers.

The bottom line: - University of Arizona remains the benchmark team in DBIA’s national student design-build competition, while Texas State’s first-year run signals new competition for the top spots.