MCAA Student Chapter Competition Celebrates 25 Years – Final Four & Merit Teams Announced

January 22, 2026

Twenty-nine MCAA Student Chapters submitted a proposal for the MCAA Water Park project. Congratulations to the Final Four and Merit Award teams. Final Four teams will present their proposals on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 17th on the main stage at MCAA26 in Phoenix, AZ.

This is the 25th year of the MCAA Student Chapter Competition and the student teams were asked to submit a proposal as the mechanical contractor. This included the completion of all aquatic plumbing and any other work related to complete the project as described in the bid documents. The teams were also tasked with purchasing the HVAC equipment, materials and providing all necessary labor and construction equipment to complete the entire project scope.

Thank you to the following companies for their special contributions to the competition project:

  • Helm Group (supplying the project)
  • DEWALT (sponsoring the competition prizes)
  • Procore (use of their Project Management software)
  • Trimble (use of Trimble Estimation MEP and/or AutoBid software)
  • Ferguson (providing pricing for pipe valves and fittings)

25 Years of the Student Chapter Competition – Winning Teams:

  • 2002 – University of Washington
  • 2003 – California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
  • 2004 – Georgia Tech
  • 2005 – Oregon State University
  • 2006 – University of Nebraska
  • 2007 – California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
  • 2008 – University of Washington
  • 2009 – Northeastern University
  • 2010 – University of Washington
  • 2011 – Milwaukee School of Engineering
  • 2012 – Southern Polytechnic State University
  • 2013 – Milwaukee School of Engineering
  • 2014 – Southern Polytechnic State University
  • 2015 – McMaster University
  • 2016 – University of Nebraska
  • 2017 – University of Missouri – Columbia
  • 2018 – Colorado State University
  • 2019 – Milwaukee School of Engineering
  • 2020 – No Winner Announced (Ball State, UMD, Missouri-Columbia, MSOE)
  • 2021 – Fairleigh Dickinson University
  • 2022 – McMaster University
  • 2023 – Pittsburg State University
  • 2024 – California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
  • 2025 – McMaster University
  • 2026 – Announced at MCAA26!

For a fourth year, Trimble will be providing a $5,000 scholarship to one student chapter competition first-round participant who has expressed interest in a career as an estimator within the mechanical contracting industry.  The Trimble Future Estimator Scholarship, along with 24 additional JRGF scholarships, will be presented at the Awards of Excellence Breakfast on Wednesday, March 18th.

Visit the JRGF website for more information about the Trimble scholarship and the many other student scholarships that are available each year. To keep up with the latest on MCAA’s student chapter programming, visit MCAA’s Career Development Initiative page.

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