HIGH SCHOOL PITCH COMPETITION

The Austin Christian University High School Pitch Competition (the "Competition") is sponsored and administered by Austin Christian University ("ACU," "Sponsor," "we," or "us"), a private Christian university located in Georgetown, Texas.

By participating in the Competition, the student entrant ("Entrant") and, where applicable, the Entrant's Parent or Legal Guardian, agree to these Official Terms & Conditions (the "Terms"). All decisions made by Sponsor regarding the Competition are final and binding.

Participation in the Competition does not constitute admission to ACU and does not guarantee any scholarship, investment, employment, or future benefit beyond the specific prizes described in these Terms.

2.1 Student Eligibility

Entrants must, at the time of entry:

• Be legal citizens of the United States;
• EITHER:
  • Be enrolled in 9th–12th grade (or the homeschool equivalent) during the 2025–2026 academic year,
  • Have applied as a prospective inbound transfer student to Austin Christian University from another college, university, or postsecondary program, OR
  • Have graduated high school within the past two years and have not enrolled in or attended any college, university, or postsecondary program (i.e., currently in a gap-year period);
• Be at least 14 years old on or before January 23, 2026; and
• Be in good standing with their school and/or affiliated organization.

2.2 Faith Affiliation

The Competition is a faith-based program sponsored by a private Christian university to promote Christian entrepreneurship. Accordingly, eligibility is limited to students who identify with the Christian faith and exhibit a lifestyle in alignment with its values.

ACU reserves the sole and absolute right to qualify the legitimacy of any Entrant's identification as Christian. Entrants whose values or conduct are deemed by ACU to be inconsistent with its Christian mission and Statement of Faith, will be disqualified.

2.3 Parental/Guardian Consent

Entrants under 18 years of age must have a Parent or Legal Guardian review these Terms and provide legally binding consent through the Competition registration form.

2.4 Exclusions

The following are not eligible:

• ACU employees, officers, or directors directly involved with the Competition, and
• Immediate family members of such individuals.

Key dates (subject to change with notice on the Competition website):

• Round 1 Opens: January 23, 2026 (12:00 p.m. CT)
• Round 1 Deadline: February 15, 2026 (11:59 p.m. CT)
• Finalists Announced: February 20, 2026
• Workshop: February 24, 2026
• Round 2 Deadline: March 8, 2026
• Winners Announced: March 11, 2026

Sponsor may modify these dates due to technical issues, force majeure, low participation, or other reasonable circumstances.

4.1 Individual Student Registration

Entrants must complete the Student Registration Form, including required personal information.

4.2 Individual Student Submissions

Entrants must then complete the Competition Submission Form, including required personal information, Statement of Faith, and submission materials for each round (e.g. a ~2-minute video).

4.3 Entry Limitations

One registration and one submission per Entrant per round. Automated, duplicate, or fraudulent entries are prohibited.

4.4 No Purchase Necessary

No purchase or payment is required to enter or win.

Round 1 entries must include:

• A 1–3 minute pitch video;
• Clear presentation of the customer, problem, solution, plan, and revenue model;
• Optional links to TikTok/Instagram posts featuring the pitch;
• Additional contact information and miscellaneous fields in the submission form, including but not limited to a statement of faith.

Entries must comply with all content standards in Section 7.

Finalists must submit:

• A 6–10 slide pitch deck (PDF);
• A 2–3 minute screen-recorded presentation with face visible in overlay;
• Optional prototype links;
• Additional contact information and miscellaneous fields in the submission form.

Failure to meet submission requirements may result in disqualification.

As in Round 1, both individual students and teams of students are welcome to compete and may be selected to move on to Round 2 as a Finalist.

All submissions must:

• Be original work created by the Entrant;
• Not infringe the rights of any third party;
• Not contain confidential or proprietary information the Entrant is not authorized to share;
• Not include inappropriate, illegal, or harmful content;
• Not include minors without proper permissions.

Sponsor may disqualify submissions inconsistent with these standards or ACU's Christian mission.

8.1 Skill-Based Contest

This is a skill-based competition. Chance plays no role in determining winners.

8.2 Judging Criteria

Judges will evaluate entries based on:

• Overall Pitch
• Problem Definition
• Solution Quality
• Plan & Execution Strategy
• Business Potential
• Actual Progress

8.3 Nature of Accelerator Participation

Any reference to "honorary membership" in the ACU Accelerator program awarded to finalists is exclusively for experiential and educational purposes.

Participation in the Competition or the Accelerator as a high school finalist does not constitute enrollment in Austin Christian University and does not grant college credit unless the student subsequently applies, is admitted, and enrolls as a degree-seeking student at ACU.

9.1 Prize Structure

Subject to the Terms herein, Sponsor currently intends to grant the following awards. For each award, the general purpose and potential recipients are described.

• Most Impactful – $10,000
  Awarded to the individual Student Entrant whose pitch and business idea, in the judgment of the judges, demonstrates the greatest potential to effect positive market impact combining viability, innovation, and purpose-driven mission.
  Recognizes vision, ambition, clarity of need, and realistic execution plan.
• Best Tech – $5,000
  Awarded to the Student Entrant whose submission reflects the strongest technical innovation or technological solution, including well-defined technology stack, prototype/mock-up, scalability, and technical feasibility.
  Recognizes engineering or technical creativity, functionality, and technical merit.
• Best Pitch – $5,000
  Awarded to the Student Entrant whose presentation — video and/or deck — is judged the clearest, most persuasive, most polished, and most compelling overall, regardless of how far the idea might be from full implementation.
  Recognizes communication, storytelling, clarity, and presentation skills.
• Honorable Mentions (4 awards) – $1,000 each
  Awarded to up to four Student Entrants whose submissions demonstrate significant promise, creativity, or merit, but fall short of a top award.
  Recognizes creativity, progress, or strong potential deserving encouragement.
• Deepest Bench – $500
  Awarded to the high school, youth group, or similar organization with the most students engaged as individuals and members of teams.
  Recognizes organizations devoted to the activation of the next generation of Christian entrepreneurs.
• Home Team – $500
  Awarded to the youth group, high school, Young Life chapter, etc. of the Grand Prize winner.
  Recognizes local organizations that are discipling the next generation of Christian entrepreneurs and leaders.

Sponsor reserves the right — in its discretion — to modify or eliminate any award or prize category, or to change award amounts or structures at any time, for any reason.

9.2 Prize Form

Prizes may be delivered to the winner (or their parent/guardian, if applicable), in one of the following forms:

• Wire transfer
• Check

In the case of a team being selected for an award, the prize will be delivered to the student (or their parent/guardian, if applicable) that uploaded the pitch video in Round 1 and is understood by ACU as the team's leader. The team is responsible for determining if and how the prize will be distributed across team members.

9.3 Requirements for Prize Acceptance

As a condition of receiving any prize, winners (or their parent/guardian, if applicable) may be required to provide documentation and complete forms, including but not limited to:

• A signed Affidavit of Eligibility & Release;
• A completed IRS Form W-9 (or other tax-identification documentation);
• A written statement of how the winner elects to receive the prize (wire transfer or check);
• Any additional documentation reasonably requested by Sponsor.

Failure to comply with these requirements by the deadline may result in forfeiture of the prize, and in Sponsor's discretion, selection of an alternate winner or no award.

9.4 Taxes

Winners are responsible for all federal, state, and local taxes associated with any prize awarded.

If a prize totals $600 or more in a calendar year, Sponsor may issue an IRS Form 1099-MISC in the winner's (or parent/guardian's) name, as required by law.

Winners are strongly encouraged to consult a qualified tax advisor to understand their individual tax obligations.

9.5 Miscellaneous Provisions

• No substitution guarantee: Except as explicitly provided, there is no guarantee that any particular award category will be available or awarded in any given year.
• Publicity & announcement: Acceptance of any prize constitutes consent to public announcement and publicity of the winner's name, affiliation, and submission, in ACU materials and press releases, unless prohibited by applicable law or requested in writing at time of award.
  
  Entrants are advised that any public sharing of their submission (e.g., through TikTok or Instagram) may result in wide distribution and reuse of their content beyond ACU's control. By participating, Entrant and Parent/Guardian accept these publicity risks and waive claims arising from such distribution.
• Right to rescind: Sponsor reserves the right to rescind any award offer prior to disbursement if winner violates any Terms, is found ineligible, exhibits behavior contrary to ACU's mission and values, or fails to comply with award acceptance requirements.

10.1 Ownership

Entrants retain ownership of their ideas and original content.

10.2 License to Sponsor

By entering, Entrant (and Parent/Guardian, where applicable) grants ACU a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, and create derivative works from submission materials — including videos, images, pitch decks, recorded presentations, team information, name, voice, likeness, and biographical details — for any of the following purposes:

• Competition administration;
• Educational and training purposes;
• Publicity, marketing, and promotion of ACU, its programs, and future competitions;
• Posting or re-posting on ACU's social media accounts, websites, and digital platforms;
• Use in print or digital media, press releases, and public presentations.

This license is granted without the need for additional notice, consent, approval, or compensation. Entrant and Parent/Guardian acknowledge that such use may include public-facing or promotional contexts and that ACU shall not be liable for any third-party use or sharing once such materials are published publicly.

10.3 Public Disclosure & Patent Rights

Entrants should be aware that participating in this Competition involves the public disclosure of their business ideas, including potentially through video submissions posted to public social media platforms.

Public disclosure of an invention may bar the ability to obtain a patent for that invention in the United States and other countries.

ACU recommends that Entrants consult with an attorney or their own advisors before submitting any description of a patentable invention or other proprietary trade secret.

By submitting an entry, Entrant acknowledges that they are doing so voluntarily and accepts all risks associated with the public disclosure of their intellectual property.

Except where prohibited by law, Entrant and Parent/Guardian grant ACU the right to use the Entrant's name, voice, image, likeness, hometown, school/Team name, and submission materials in any media (including social media) for promotional, educational, and media purposes, without further notice or compensation. If the Entrant is under 18 years of age, the Parent/Guardian's agreement constitutes consent on the Entrant's behalf. Entrants and Parents/Guardians waive any right to inspect or approve such uses.

Personal information will be collected and used in accordance with:

• These Terms, and
• ACU's Privacy Policy.

Use of third-party platforms (e.g., TikTok, Instagram) is subject to those platforms' respective terms.

ACU will not disclose personal data of minor participants (including full name, contact information, or identifiable sensitive information) in public-facing materials without consent, except as necessary for contest promotion (e.g., first name, last initial, team name, city, and video link). Personal data will not be sold or shared with third parties for unrelated marketing purposes.

ACU will consider reasonable accommodation requests for Entrants with disabilities. Requests may be submitted to Sponsor using the contact information on the Competition site.

Sponsor may disqualify any Entrant or Team for:

• Violating these Terms;
• Submitting inappropriate or fraudulent content;
• Manipulating engagement metrics;
• Conduct inconsistent with ACU's Christian mission and values.

Sponsor may modify, suspend, or terminate the Competition due to technical issues, fraud, or circumstances beyond its control.

15.1 General Release

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Entrant and Parent/Guardian release ACU and its affiliates from any claims arising from:

• Participation in the Competition;
• Use or misuse of prizes;
• Technical issues or platform outages;
• Third-party social media platforms.

15.2 Social Media Platform Release

This Competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or any other social media platform used to promote or administer the Competition.

By participating, Entrants and their parents/guardians hereby completely release TikTok, Instagram, and their parent companies, affiliates, and subsidiaries from any and all liability, claims, or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages, or losses to persons or property which may be sustained in connection with the access, use, or participation in the Competition.

Entrants acknowledge that they are providing their information to ACU and not to these platforms.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Entrant and Parent/Guardian agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to the Competition, these Terms, or any prize awarded (including but not limited to the interpretation, breach, enforcement, or scope of this arbitration provision), shall first be submitted to good-faith Christian mediation, using a neutral third-party mediator mutually agreed upon by both parties. If such mediation does not resolve the dispute within sixty (60) days, the matter shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules.

The arbitration shall take place in Williamson County, Texas, and shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas. Entrant and Parent/Guardian expressly waive any right to a jury trial or to participate in a class action. All claims must be brought on an individual basis, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, or representative proceeding.

If the Entrant is under 18 years of age, their Parent or Legal Guardian acknowledges and agrees to these provisions on the Entrant's behalf.

This clause shall survive any cancellation, conclusion, or termination of the Competition.

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect. Sponsor's failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver. Sponsor may assign its rights under these Terms.

By submitting a Competition registration form—and by marking the required agreement checkbox—the submitter (whether the Student Entrant, the Parent/Guardian of the Student Entrant) acknowledges and agrees that:

• They have read and agree to these Terms & Conditions;
• They provide all required consents described herein (including parental consent, if applicable);
• If submitting on behalf of a Student Entrant under 18, they authorize the Student's participation in the Competition; and
• All information submitted in the registration form is true, accurate, and complete to the best of their knowledge.

Questions may be directed to ACU via the contact information listed on the Competition website.