Texas Academic Decathlon

Name

Texas Academic Decathlon

Legal name

Texas Academic Decathlon

Website

https://txacadec.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Competition Programs

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic Decathlon & Interdisciplinary Competitions (EDAMAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Athletic, Arts & Talent-Based Scholarships (EDAIAOAM)

Keywords

• Academic competitions
• Scholarship programs
• Team academic events
• Curriculum-based competitions
• Student enrichment programs

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

Panama

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Team Registration Fees: Schools and ISDs register teams for competition programs including Decathlon, Octathlon, Pentathlon, and Lone Star Challenge. Registration is handled through regional coordinators and online forms. Additional revenue comes from merchandise sales (graduation cords, souvenir patches) and scrimmage test materials.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Texas Academic Decathlon organizes team-based academic competitions for Texas students from elementary through high school (grades 4-12). Its flagship offering is a nine-student team competition across ten subject areas (Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Science, Speech) plus Super Quiz, with three GPA divisions (Honors, Scholastic, Varsity) on every team. The organization also runs companion programs (Octathlon, Pentathlon, Lone Star Challenge), awards over $150,000 in annual scholarships, and stages competitions from scrimmages through regionals to the state championship and USAD nationals.

Product overview

Texas Academic Decathlon operates a suite of four academic team competition programs for Texas students at different grade levels. The flagship Academic Decathlon (ten subjects, nine students per team, three GPA divisions) is supported by the Octathlon (eight subjects, freshmen/sophomores), Pentathlon (five subjects, middle school), and Lone Star Challenge (elementary, Texas-exclusive). All programs share a common structure of team-based academic competition with subjective and objective events. The organization provides supporting materials (competition manuals, study resources, merchandise), awards over $150,000 in annual scholarships, and organizes competitions from scrimmage/regional levels through state championships to national USAD events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Academic Decathlon Flagship nine-student team academic competition for high school students (grades 9-12) covering ten subject areas (Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Science, Speech) plus Super Quiz. Every team is required to include three students from each of three GPA divisions (Honors 3.85-4.00, Scholastic 3.50-3.8499, Varsity 0-3.4999). Teams progress from scrimmages through regional and state competitions, with state division champions advancing to the USAD National Championship.
• Academic Octathlon Eight-subject academic team competition designed for high school freshmen and sophomores, functioning as a preparation pathway that introduces younger students to the Decathlon format before they compete at the upperclassman level.
• Academic Pentathlon Five-subject academic team competition for 6th-8th grade students at Texas middle schools, competing at regional and national levels. The program introduces younger students to academic team competition and serves as a feeder pipeline to the high school Decathlon.
• Lone Star Challenge Texas-exclusive academic competition for elementary students in grades 4-6, based on STAAR testing fundamentals. Schools compete at the ISD and regional levels within Texas only.
• Scholarship Program Annual scholarship awards exceeding $150,000 granted at the State competition to top individual scorers and top teams in each school-size division, paid out in $1,000 installments per semester.
• Competition Manuals Official downloadable PDF manuals for each competition program (Decathlon, Octathlon, Pentathlon, Lone Star Challenge) providing subject area guidelines, scoring rubrics, and competition rules for coaches and teams.
• Scrimmage Test Materials Practice test materials covering all subject areas plus Super Quiz, used by teams to prepare under real testing conditions before the competitive season.
• Graduation Honor Cords and Souvenir Patches Merchandise including red, silver, and blue honor cords for graduating team members as well as region and state competition souvenir patches.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $150,000 in scholarships awarded annually at State competition
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• United States Academic Decathlon (USAD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTexas Academic Decathlon operates as the state-level organization affiliated with USAD. State divisional champions advance to compete at the USAD National Championship. Texas competes under the USAD umbrella at the national level.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Science Olympiad: National K-12 STEM team competition organization with state-level affiliates (including Texas Science Olympiad) running multi-event team tournaments from elementary through high school. Comparable in mission, school-based team registration model, regional-to-national pipeline, and scholarship recognition.
• California Academic Decathlon: A peer state-level Academic Decathlon affiliate operating under USAD license, running the same 10-subject Decathlon format with regional and state competitions. Directly comparable in mission, structure, and operating model to Texas Academic Decathlon.
• National History Bee and Bowl: Multi-grade-level history quiz competition running regional, state, and national championships for elementary, middle, and high school students. Closely comparable competition format, team-based school participation, and regional/state pipeline.
• MATHCOUNTS: National middle school math competition with chapter, state, and national rounds plus team and individual formats. Highly comparable to TAD's middle-school Pentathlon in target audience, school-coach-driven GTM, and regional/state/national competition structure.

Others

• National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA): Largest K-12 academic competition organization in the US, with school-based membership, district/tournament progression, and a national championship. Comparable in scale and school-coach GTM but operates a broader portfolio of speech/debate events rather than the interdisciplinary Academic Decathlon format.

Broad incumbents

• United States Academic Decathlon (USAD): National-level parent organization that licenses the Academic Decathlon program and trademarks to state affiliates including Texas Academic Decathlon. Operates the National Championship and sets curriculum/themes that Texas adopts, making it the most directly comparable peer at the federation level.
• DECA (formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America): National high-school career and technical student organization with state and international conferences, team-based competitive events, and scholarship programs. Comparable in competition-driven student organization model and scholarship awarding, though focused on business/marketing rather than academic decathlon.

Emerging players

• Destination Imagination: Nonprofit K-12 problem-solving and STEAM team competition with regional, state, and global tournaments. Comparable in team-based competition structure, school-coach GTM, and tournament pipeline, but focuses on project-based challenges rather than subject-matter testing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/acadectx
• Facebookfacebook.com/acadectx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/texas-academic-decathlon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Texas Academic Decathlon