For the first time in the University of Oregon's Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship's New Venture Championship (NVC) seventeen-year history, two teams were named co-champions of the 2008 competition. Brigham Young University's Klymit and the University of Oregon's TakeShape walked away with $30,000 each to invest in their businesses.

Twenty graduate teams from universities across the world, including Hong Kong and Australia, came to Portland, Oregon, to compete in the highly respected business competition. The first- and second-place cash prizes were combined and divided equally between the co-champions.

TakeShape won an automatic berth to the 2008 Moot Corp competition where the team will join Klymit, which also received an entry from the 2008 San Diego State University's Venture Challenge. Brigham Young University will additionally be given an automatic berth to the 2009 NVC.

"The judges decided that there will be no second place," said Randy Swangard, managing director of the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship. "The two teams presented such strong business plans that the judges were compelled to reward them both."

Klymit, including team members Nate Alder and Ben Maughan, has developed a patent-pending, revolutionary form of adjustable insulation technology that uses inert noble gases.

"It's an honor to be shoulder to shoulder with these guys," said Nate Alder.

TakeShape, including team members Cody Stavig, Peter Vomocil, Bill Sedlak, and Andrew Earle, plans to license a patented, 3D body scanner to sell to institutional sports teams.

"It's exciting. Both teams walked away with more money than we thought possible before we arrived," said Andrew Earle.

ElectriSense from Georgia Institute of Technology won $5,000 for third place. Comuto from INSEAD and COR Innovations from Stanford University each won $2,500 as runners-up.

For more competition details and to review the live blog updates from the event, visit http://www.venturechampionship.com/.