Champions in 2019 and 2021, UCC is back in the Grand Finale after a two-year absence — and now has a third national crown firmly in sight.
When the history of the Tertiary Business Sense Challenge is told, the University of Cape Coast (UCC) will always occupy a special place.
They were the maiden National Champions in 2019 and reclaimed the crown in 2021, defeating KNUST 59.13–50.13 in the Grand Finale. UCC subsequently finished runners-up in 2022 and 2023, completing an extraordinary run of five consecutive Grand Finale appearances from 2019 to 2023.
Then came two years away from the biggest stage.
UCC missed the final in 2024 and suffered an agonising exit in 2025, when they tied KNUST 64.88–64.88 in the National Semi-Final before losing on a tiebreaker.
In 2026, the original champions are back.
From a half-point setback to national dominance
UCC's road to Saturday has contained an interesting twist.
Their South-West Zonal Final against UEW was decided by the narrowest of margins:
UEW 43.5 – UCC 43.
Half a point denied Cape Coast the zonal crown.
But UCC's response at the National Championship has been emphatic.
In the quarter-final, they dismantled Academic City University: UCC 61 – Academic City 21.
It was a 40-point victory and the highest score of the 2026 National Quarter-Finals.
Next came GCTU in the semi-final. UCC 45 – GCTU 15.5.
Another commanding performance — and after two years outside the Grand Finale, UCC had announced its return in style.
Meet the quartet from Cape Coast
UCC's team combines experience across three business disciplines.
Prince Quaison, a Level 400 BCom Finance student, is joined by Ruth Awinebotima Apobisah, a Level 400 BCom Accounting student, and Enoch Inkoom, a Level 400 BCom Human Resource Management student.
Completing the quartet is Ebenezer Nyarkoh, a Level 300 BCom Accounting student.
With Finance, Accounting and Human Resource Management represented, the team brings a useful multidisciplinary mix to a competition that demands competence across the breadth of contemporary business knowledge.
Experience behind the team
Leading the team is Prof. Seyram Kawor, Professor of Finance at the UCC School of Business, who has coached UCC in the competition since 2024.
He is supported by Dr Bernice Nkrumah-Boadu, whose TBSC connection goes all the way back to the maiden edition. She was involved in UCC's 2019 championship campaign as a student and has remained associated with the team, eventually transitioning into coaching. UCC's own account of that maiden victory identifies her among the students who supported the team's research effort.
It provides an appropriate link between generations: someone involved when UCC won the first TBSC is now helping prepare another team to chase the eighth.
Can UCC reclaim the crown?
Their prospects look very strong.
Of the three finalists, UCC has produced arguably the most emphatic performances in the national knockout rounds — scoring 106 points across its quarter-final and semi-final while conceding only 36.5.
But the Grand Finale is a different examination.
UG are appearing in their third consecutive final and were champions only two years ago. KNUST are the defending champions and will be making their sixth consecutive Grand Finale appearance.
UCC's own zonal defeat to UEW also provides a reminder that when contests become tight, the smallest error can decide everything.
Still, the opportunity is enormous.
Victory would give UCC national titles in 2019, 2021 and 2026, ending a five-year wait and making them three-time champions.
Seven years after winning the trophy that started it all, the original champions are back asking for it again.
And judging by the manner in which they have reached the final, they will take some stopping.
Grand Finale prospects: VERY STRONG
The big question: Can UCC complete its return to the biggest stage by reclaiming the crown and becoming a three-time TBSC National Champion?
Alhassan Yusif Trawule, PhD is the Quiz Master/Technical Head of the Tertiary Business Sense Challenge.