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AAF’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) is the premier college advertising competition. NSAC promotes and sponsors three levels of competition: District and two-tiers Nationally. Each year, it provides more than 3,000 college students with real-world experience by requiring a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate sponsor.

2024 NSAC Information

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Date TBD

NSAC COMPETITION FEES

  • The fee structure for teams will be as follows:
    • $250.00 for Teams with 10 or less members
    • $375.00 for Teams with 11-15 members
    • Teams that have more than 15 members will pay $25.00 for each additional member

2024 NSAC CHAIR

Michael Nix
AAF Tuscaloosa
Email Michael

The Structure of the NSAC Competitions

The AAF is divided into 15 districts, each containing one to five states. Each district holds a competition in April and the winning team advances to the national finals which are held during the annual AAF National Conference in June. Each district appoints its own coordinator, a local business professional, to handle all details of the local competition. Judging is conducted by professionals in the communications industry. Judges at the national level are selected from the client and their advertising agencies. Yearly, some districts will have as many as 18 teams competing and nationwide more than 150 colleges and universities take on the NSAC challenge.

There is no better way to learn about the advertising campaign process than by actually developing a campaign for a real client.

The competition is governed by the Education Services division and the AAF Academic Committee, a group of advertising educators and practitioners from across the country, who oversee the policies and procedures of the competitions. These members ensure that there is a level playing field and that the competition demonstrates the highest academic and professional standards.

For more information contact:
Education Services Program at
1101 Vermont Avenue, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
Education@aaf.org
Phone: 1-800-999-2231 | Fax: (202) 898-0159

The District Executive Committee established the Charlie Malone NSAC Assistance Fund in 2007. The fund was named after former Governor Charlie Malone in honor of his service to the District and his dedication to students. Voluntary contributions are collected during the year and are given to the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team that wins the District competition at Spring Convention should they make it to the final round. The funds are used to aid with travel expenses to the NSAC finals held annually at the AAF National ADMERICA! Conference.

Checks made payable to: AAF District 7

Mail to:
Rebecca Royen
AAF District 7
5017 Stone Bridge Lane
Birmingham, AL 35242

NSAC Host Guidelines

  • We are excited that your chapter has expressed interest in hosting the District 7 National Student Advertising Competition. Below you will find a list of guidelines for the competition:
  • District 7 will appoint an NSAC Chair + Co-Chair that will work directly with the host college to coordinate the District competition.
  • The District competition must be hosted in April of each year. The dates of the competition will be determined by the Executive Committee of AAF District 7.
  • The college must secure a space that meets the room and equipment requirements set forth by AAF National (See Appendix A Example). The venue layout must be approved by District 7’s NSAC Chair and/or 1st Lt. Governor prior to entering into an agreement.
  • The host college will provide breakfast and lunch on Saturday for all teams.
  • The fee structure for teams will be as follows:
    • $250.00 for Teams with 10 or less members
    • $375.00 for Teams with 11-15 members
    • Teams that have more than 15 members will pay $25.00 for each additional member
  • The host college may solicit sponsorships to help cover costs of food and venue. Sponsorships must adhere to AAF and District 7 guidelines.
  • The host college must work with the hotel to secure a room block for participants.
  • Transportation from the hotel to the venue must be provided by the host college. Please submit a formal proposal on letterhead with the following information included:
    • Advisors Name, Email, and Phone Number
    • Proposed venue including physical address
    • Detail specifics of the venue to include AV information, room setup capabilities etc.
    • Please provide a statement that the venue does meet the requirements set forth by AAF National for the NSAC competition.
  • Photos of the venue preferred but not required
  • Proposed options for Breakfast and Lunch on the day of the event with cost breakdown
  • Hotel Information including Discounted Room Rate + Minimum number of rooms required
  • Transportation plan from hotel to venue

The District 7 panel of advisors will vote on the NSAC location based on all submitted and approved proposals.

Overview: How the NSAC Works

Schools within our district form teams and compete against one another to determine the District winner. By finishing first, this winning team is then designated to participate in the next level of the National competition against winning teams from all 15 of AAF’s districts. The teams discuss their campaigns with a panel of industry executives in a semifinal round to determine who will compete in person at the annual AAF National ADMERICA! Conference. This semi-final round is conducted via online video conference and was added beginning with the 2014 competition. The top eight teams from this round go on to compete for the judges at Nationals.

More Information

District 7’s role in the NSAC: A History 1967-2014

Click to view the PDF of the latest version of this comprehensive story about the creation and expansion of the NSAC written by Charlie Malone.

Download PDF

previous winners

1967 University of Georgia

1968 Georgia State

1969 University of Georgia

1970 Georgia State

1971 University of Tennessee

1972 Louisiana State University

1973 University of Tennessee

1974 Mercer University

1975 University of Tennessee (2ND NATIONAL)

1976 University of Tennessee

1977 University of Tennessee

1978 University of Georgia

1979 University of Tennessee (1ST NATIONAL)

1980 University of Georgia

1981 Southeastern Louisiana (4TH NATIONAL)

1982 University of Georgia (3RD NATIONAL)

1983 University of Georgia (1ST NATIONAL)

1984 University of Georgia

1985 University of Georgia (2ND NATIONAL)

1986 Southern Mississippi

1987 University of Tennessee

1988 Southeastern Louisiana

1989 University of Alabama

1990 University of Tennessee

1991 University of Alabama

1992 University of Alabama

1993 University of Georgia

1994 Loyola University

1995 Loyola University (1ST NATIONAL)

1996 Loyola University (2ND NATIONAL)

1997 University of Memphis

1998 Loyola University

1999 University of Alabama

2000 University of Alabama (1ST NATIONAL)

2001 University of Tennessee

2002 Loyola University

2004 University of Tennessee

2003 University of Tennessee

2005 Loyola University

2006 University of Tennessee

2007 SCAD

2008 Louisiana State University

2009 University of Alabama (2ND NATIONAL)

2010 SCAD

2011 SCAD

2012 University of Alabama (2ND NATIONAL)

2013 Louisiana State University

2014 University of Alabama

2015 Louisiana State University

2016 Louisiana State University

2017 Louisiana State University

2018 East Tennessee State University

2019 University of Alabama

2020 East Tennessee State University

2021 Loyola University

2022 East Tennessee State University

2023 East Tennessee State University

Richard Joel Best Presenter Award Winners

2013 Johnny Sciortino, LSU

2014 Jason Jones, University of Memphis

2015 Alexandra Olivier, Loyola University

2016 Paige Roberts, LSU

2017 Clooeen Conneran

2018 Chance Powell, East Tennessee State University

2019 Katelyn Owen, University of Alabama

2020 Nico Chopivsky, Loyola University New Orleans

2021 Sydney Burns, Loyola University New Orleans

2022 Sky Stubbs, Loyola University

2023 AJ Durand, Tulane University

Bolton-Macvicar-Malone National Best Presenter Award Winners

2011 Monica I. Almeida, University of Texas El Paso

2012 Gabriel Carter, Grand Valley State University

2013 Robert Freeman Smith, Michigan St. University

2014 Katherine Vreeland, Johnson and Wales University

2015 Brandon Mai, University of Oregon

2016 Amanda Koontz, West Texas A&M University

2017 Nathalie Nagamine

2018 Joshua Race, Syracuse University

2019 Alexandra Farber, South Dakota State University

2020 Kyle Fiene, University of Oregon

2021 Ana Stanisavljev, University of Virginia

2022 Caroline Seely, Chapman University 

2023 Luckett Vanguard, University of Minnesota

Former Governor’s Choice Award

Hailey Darnielle, Louisiana State University