Chapman Encouraging Creation of Net Firms

Following the lead of UC Irvine, Chapman University in Orange has announced a contest to encourage students to create business plans for fledgling Internet businesses.

The competition is more than just an academic exercise. The winning team will take home $5,000, and two runners-up will net $500 each. A panel of professors and entrepreneurs will judge the contest.

Students have until March 15 to turn in their proposals. The winner and runners-up will be announced May 15, the school said.

“We want our students to understand what it takes to be an entrepreneur,” said Lynne Pierson Doti, director of Chapman’s Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics.

About 60 universities across the United States hold business-plan tournaments, including the University of Chicago, UC Berkeley and Harvard.