SIU’s Deloitte FanTAXtic national prize-winning student team includes (left to right) Lawson Ridgeway, Ryan Ruthenberg, Eliot Gonzalez, Ava Maggiore and Evan Noelle. (Photo provided.)
February 20, 2026
SIU students claim third prize at national tax competition
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Top three in the entire country.
That’s the feat a team of Southern Illinois University Carbondale students accomplished recently in the National Deloitte FanTAXtic Case Competition, besting such venerable universities as Brigham Young, Marquette, Florida State, North Caroline State and University of Illinois Chicago.
This is SIU’s third trip to the nationals earned in the last four years and the students did extremely well in 2026, according to Tim Hurley, who serves as the team’s faculty adviser and an accounting clinical associate professor for the School of Accountancy in SIU’s College of Business and Analytics.
“The level of competition at the national Deloitte FanTAXtic competition was extraordinarily high,” Hurley said. “We were competing against some of the best tax students in the country and the expectations from the judges reflected real-world professional standards. I couldn’t be prouder of how they represented SIU’s accounting program.”
Award-winning Dawgs
SIU’s FanTAXtic team includes:
- Eliot Gonzalez, a sophomore accounting and finance double major from Humboldt Park, Illinois.
- Ava Maggiore, a sophomore accounting major from Chicago.
- Evan Noelle, a junior accounting major from Marion, Illinois.
- Lawson Ridgeway, a senior accounting and finance double major from Du Quoin, Illinois.
- Ryan Ruthenberg, a sophomore accounting major from Elgin, Illinois.
“What makes it especially challenging is the time pressure,” Hurley said. “The students had just two hours in the first round and three hours in the final round to analyze complex tax issues, conduct research and prepare a professional presentation and present it to the judges. To perform at such a high level under those constraints speaks volumes about our students’ technical abilities, preparation and composure.”
Hurley also noted that SIU’s feat was particularly impressive as Ridgeway is the lone senior and only team member to already complete tax courses when the project began. He and Noelle served as team leaders. The SIU students invested countless hours in the last few months researching, reviewing data, working on problem solutions, creating and practicing their presentation and doing everything they could to prepare for the difficult competition.
Tough scenarios
SIU won the regional Deloitte FanTAXtic tax case competition in November to earn a trip to the championships at Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas, - an event postponed to February because of a snow and ice storm.
Here’s how it works: In early October, the students received a “tax problem.” They had just four weeks to analyze financials, tax laws and other relevant components – and create plans and recommendations regarding the type of corporation to form, whether property for the business should be leased or purchased and more.
The national contest began on Friday night with an extension of the original problem – including altering financial projections for the hypothetical business, increasing salaries and adding other complications. The teams had just two hours to consider changing the classification of their business and to address the new concerns. The next morning, they had to present their plan to the “clients,” who were actually Deloitte accounting firm partners. This part of the challenge was 20% of the score.
They weren’t done yet! The contest included another problem extension, this one to determine hiring practices, expansion of the ownership model, and current real estate and income tax implications under new laws. They had three hours to solve these problems – and that was 80% of the score.
Nationwide, 84 teams representing 59 universities and colleges began the contest last fall, an increase of nearly 25% from last year. Just 20 teams, comprising 85 students, earned a berth at the national contest. SIU’s team earned a $2,500 prize for the university and $500 for each team member but more importantly, earned bragging rights among the best of the best, Hurley said.