The idea came about simply enough. University of Mary soccer player Matt Stucke didn't want to take off his cleats after practice one day, so he slipped into his sandals to protect his cleats from wear on the hard surface of the parking lot.

The idea grew when Stucke watched a teammate slip on the locker room floor while wearing his cleats.

The idea soared to new levels Tuesday afternoon when Stucke presented the concept for Safe Sole Sports during the second annual Entrepreneur Fair at U-Mary. One of the judges was so impressed that he offered to drive Stucke to Fargo today to patent the product with the state's lone patent attorney.

"You need to start on this right away. I think this has potential to be a million-dollar business," judge Brad Scott told Stucke.

Stucke so impressed the five judges that he earned top honors at the E-Fair, which brings a $2,000 award.

"This just fulfills my dream," Stucke said after the event. "Two months ago I had no prototype, just a vision on paper. Six months from now who knows where I'll be."

The Safe Sole is basically a shoe insert made of plastic. You heat it with something as simple as a hair dryer to soften the material. Then you step on it with your cleats, let it cool, cut off the excess plastic and insert it in a sandal with Velcro straps. The insert will save on the wear of your cleats, but more importantly make it safe for an athlete to walk around while wearing their cleats.

Stucke was one of five individuals or groups to present a business plan.

The E-Fair is an offshoot of the Harold Schafer Emerging Leaders Academy. Dewey Tietz, owner of Crosscountry Courier, said the idea is to help foster business ideas with students in an effort to develop new business and keep young people in the state. The next step, Tietz said, is to develop a business incubator to help students start a new business.

The E-Fair allows students to receive advice and suggestions from a panel of judges, who are business leaders in the state. Scott, owner of Scott Financial Corp. in Bismarck, said it allows students a springboard into the business world because they can network and learn from veteran business people instead of stumbling around the business world for a couple of years on their own.

Stucke presented at last year's E-Fair and said the advice he received helped him put together a better project this year. He had a power point presentation, but more importantly had prototypes on hand, something the judges could see instead of trying to imagine.

Others presenting Tuesday were Maggie Barnett and Scott Berry, winners of the second-place prize of $1,000; Ryan Deichert, winner of the third-place prize of $500; and honorable mention winners Pat Yatskis and the pair of Kilee Dobogai and Darrel Williams.

(Reach reporter Mark Hanson at 250-8264 or mark@ndonline.com.)