Red, White and Hoos: A New a Cappella Group at the University of Virginia

Abstract

This case is intended for an advanced undergraduate course in finance, accounting, or arts management. It has been used successfully with both business and nonbusiness students. Three undergraduate students decide to start a new a cappella singing group with hopes of producing a CD the following year. The case provides opportunities for students to estimate funding needs, conduct scenario and sensitivity analyses, and use this information to develop strategies to accomplish the group's objectives. Excerpt UVA-F-1751 Rev. May 4, 2016 Red, White & Hoos: A New A Cappella Group at the University of Virginia Second-year students Faith and Cameron whooped as they skipped through the puddles on Rugby Road while walking back to their respective apartment complexes in April 2015. The pair had met during their first year at the University of Virginia (U.Va.) when Faith surprised Cameron singing doo-wop harmonies to “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line in the stairwell of Page House. They quickly became friends, bonding over a mutual love of country music and the challenges of navigating prerequisite classes for the McIntire School of Commerce. Though both had sung in a cappella groups in high school, neither had found a home within U.Va.'s existing music community, and consequently, went on to participate in other clubs and activities. The release of the Zac Brown Band's hit single, “Homegrown,” earlier that month rekindled their interest in participating in an a cappella group. While waiting in line at Bodo's Bagels, Faith began humming the chorus, which Cameron took as encouragement to share his classy “boots and cats and boots and cats and boots” beatbox accompaniment. Walking out of the restaurant, the two began talking about how they “really ought to start an a cappella group—you know, one that would sing real 'Murican country music!” A Cappella Groups at the University of Virginia . . .