Champions in 2024, runners-up in 2025 and finalists again in 2026, the University of Ghana has turned consistency into a habit.
There is reaching the top. And then there is learning how to stay there.
Over the past three editions of the Tertiary Business Sense Challenge, the University of Ghana (UG) has done just that: National Champions in 2024, runners-up in 2025, and back in the Grand Finale in 2026.
UG's breakthrough came in 2024, when it defeated KNUST and UEW in the Grand Finale to claim its first national title. The University of Ghana Business School described the victory as making UG the first institution from the Greater Accra Region to win the competition.
KNUST took the crown from them in 2025, but UG finished second and has now returned for a third consecutive Grand Finale.
The faces may have changed. The ambition has not.
From third in the zone to national finalist
UG's 2026 journey has not been entirely straightforward.
They opened with a 44–26.5 victory over West End University College, before overcoming Valley View University 43–38 in the South-East semi-final.
But the zonal final produced a surprise. Accra Technical University won with 40 points, Pentecost University finished second with 32, while UG placed third with 29.5.
Rather than derail their campaign, that setback appears to have sharpened it.
At the National Quarter-Final, UG faced UEW — the 2023 National Champions and 2026 South-West Zonal Champions — and produced an emphatic 44–26 victory.
Next came Pentecost University, the same institution that had finished ahead of UG at the zonal final.
This time: UG 32.5 – Pentecost 17.
Revenge secured. Grand Finale booked.
A young quartet carrying Legon's hopes
One particularly interesting feature of the UG team is its relative youth: three of the four contestants are Level 300 students.
Isaac Owusu Sekyere and Ebenezer Amoah Abosi are Level 300 BSc Accounting students, while Eric Botwe, also in Level 300, studies BSc Banking and Finance.
The senior member is Jonathan Peasah, a Level 400 BSc Accounting student.
Thus, three Accounting students and one Banking and Finance student will carry Legon's hopes — with three members potentially still having another year ahead of them.
But judging by their national-stage performances, they have little interest in waiting for the future.
Experience behind a young team
Providing continuity is Prof. Elikplimi Komla Agbloyor, Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School, who has coached the team since 2022. His academic interests span areas including banking, corporate governance, investments and financial development.
He is supported by Emmanuel Agyei, who has been instrumental in preparing the 2026 team and was also involved in the training setup behind UG's 2024 championship success.
The contestants may be relatively young, but the structure behind them understands what it takes to win the TBSC.
Can UG reclaim the crown?
Certainly.
Perhaps UG's strongest argument is recent consistency. No institution accidentally reaches three consecutive Grand Finales.
There is also an encouraging pattern in their 2026 campaign. UG finished only third in the South-East Zone, yet when the competition moved to the national knockout stage, they eliminated UEW by 18 points and Pentecost by 15.5 points.
They appear to be getting stronger as the stakes get higher.
But Saturday presents the ultimate test.
UCC arrives after two emphatic national-stage victories, while KNUST enters as defending champions and will be making an extraordinary sixth consecutive Grand Finale appearance.
For UG, victory would mean national crowns in 2024 and 2026, with a runners-up finish in between — a powerful statement of sustained excellence.
UCC want the crown back after five years.
KNUST want to keep it.
UG lost it only last year — and have returned immediately to reclaim it.
Grand Finale prospects: VERY STRONG
The big question: Can this young Legon quartet turn three consecutive Grand Finale appearances into a second national crown?
Alhassan Yusif Trawule, PhD is the Quiz Master/Technical Head of the Tertiary Business Sense Challenge.