LINCOLN — State officials launched a new contest for student entrepreneurs last Tuesday that they hope will lead to creating the “next Hudl,” a sports tech start-up that now employs 3,500 “Hudlies” across the world.

With about two dozen 20-somethings looking on at Hudl’s downtown Lincoln headquarters, Gov. Jim Pillen pitched the “Governor’s New Ventures Competition” as a way to keep the “best and the brightest” college students in Nebraska from moving away.

The contest will pay $20,000 for the best business idea submitted by Nebraska college students, and $15,000 and $10,000 for second and third place, respectively. Business “mentors” assigned to contestants will help them hone their proposals.

“We’re entering into an incredible new economy, and the more that we can do to stimulate students to have the next bold idea that can change the world (the better),” Pillen said.

Bryan Slone, the president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that Hudl was “a model of what’s possible” in the state.

“Where is the coolest sports tech company in the world?” Slone asked. It’s here, he responded.

Two Hudl employees watching the press conference said the contest idea was exciting, though one expressed concern about whether contest winners would remain in Nebraska due to the current political environment.

Catherine Chapman, a recent University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate who works with the legal team at Hudl, said a contest winner might seek to locate their new business elsewhere, so some work needs to be done to prevent that.

Her co-worker, Lauren Bruning, a lawyer, called the contest a “brilliant idea,” adding that she recently judged a business contest at UNL and found that students have many innovative proposals for start-up ventures.

Out-migration of recent Nebraska college graduates, also called the

“brain drain,” has accelerated in recent years, according to researchers at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. About 4,500 more left the state in 2021 than remained.

Some state legislators cite recent, less progressive laws passed in Nebraska as the reason, specifically the stricter ban on abortion and restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors.

Pillen, when asked about that Tuesday, dismissed the idea.

“That’s not the book that I’m reading,” said the first-term, Republican governor. “This has been a most welcoming state for 156 years.”

“We welcome people from every tract of land, every language, every color,” Pillen added. “We have love and life in our hearts. We help people no matter where they come from 100% of the time.”

Such business plan contests played an important role in the establishment of Hudl, a sports tech company that provides performance analysis tools to help athletic teams improve.

Hudl CEO David Graff, a UNL graduate, said that he and partners entered several similar contests 17 years ago when the company was founded, and used their contest winnings to finance office space, hire interns and travel to meet potential clients.

The company, which has employees or “Hudlies” in 17 countries, was recently named by Newsweek as one of the Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces. Hudl was the only sports technology company and Nebraska-based business to be so honored.

This story was originally published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. It is part of the national nonprofit States Newsroom. Find more at nebraskaexaminer.com.