Texas State University's AdvoCats take home national championship honors for their "Future Forward" campaign

RALEIGH, NC / ACCESS Newswire / May 14, 2026 / ACCESS Newswire (NYSE American:ACCS) this past week congratulated the outstanding student teams recognized in the 2026 Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Bateman Case Study Competition, including national champions the Texas State University AdvoCats, whose "Future Forward" campaign earned top honors among more than 35 competing universities.

The annual Bateman Competition, hosted by the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), challenges students nationwide to create and execute strategic public relations campaigns on behalf of a real-world client. This year, ACCESS Newswire served as the official client, with the competition centered on building awareness for the company's Professional Education (EDU) Program - an initiative that provides professors and students with complimentary access to ACCESS Newswire's corporate-level communications platform, helping bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world career experience.

Finalist honors went to two additional standout teams:

• Montclair State University, who placed second with their "ACCESS Academy" campaign

• Texas State University's StarCats, who placed third with their "Culture in Common" campaign

"We were incredibly impressed by the creativity, passion, professionalism, and strategic thinking demonstrated throughout this year's competition," said Jennifer Hammers, EVP of Sales & Marketing at ACCESS Newswire. "These students didn't simply complete an academic assignment - they executed sophisticated, measurable communications campaigns that reflect the future of the public relations industry."

The finalist teams developed campaigns that combined media relations, campus activation, digital engagement, thought leadership, and original storytelling - each designed to demonstrate the real-world value of communications technology and earned media strategy. Teams leveraged ACCESS Newswire's distribution network, media database, and analytics tools to plan, execute, and measure their campaigns from start to finish - the same enterprise-grade resources made available to students and faculty year-round through the EDU Program.

ACCESS Newswire's Professional Education Program was created to give the next generation of communicators hands-on experience with the tools they'll use throughout their careers. By providing free access to press release distribution, media databases, monitoring, and analytics, the program equips PR and communications students with the same capabilities used by Fortune 500 communications teams, public companies, and leading PR agencies - turning coursework into real-world practice.

"Programs like the Bateman Competition are critical because they give students the opportunity to work on live business challenges with real expectations and measurable outcomes," Hammers added. "The level of execution we saw from Texas State, Montclair State, and every participating team gives us tremendous confidence in the next generation of PR and communications professionals - and we're proud to play a part in their development through our EDU Program."

The Bateman Case Study Competition is widely regarded as PRSSA's premier national competition and has served as a launchpad for many of the most respected communications leaders across the public relations industry.

For more information about ACCESS Newswire and the Professional Education Program, visit www.accessnewswire.com.

About ACCESS Newswire ACCESS Newswire (NYSE American:ACCS) is a global communications and news distribution company focused on helping brands, public companies, agencies, and organizations amplify their stories through modern media technology, strategic distribution, and audience engagement solutions. The company - which also operates PressRelease.com - supports communications professionals with press release distribution across 108+ premium outlets, a human and AI daily-curated media database, monitoring and social listening, analytics, and integrated communications tools designed to maximize visibility and impact.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Hammers
jenniferh@accessnewswire.com
888-808-2227
www.accessnewswire.com

SOURCE: ACCESS Newswire Inc.