I have an old checkout-counter recipe book that featured six former winners of an all-meat (no beans allowed) Chili cook-off. What struck me were four things: several recipes used both chicken and beef bouillon granules, several used both beef and pork, none used ground beef, and all used what seemed very high doses of chili powder. But all used the same basic ingredients with what seemed like minor variations, so I ended up wondering what made those recipes stand out.
You can make perfectly good chili with ground beef, for home use but not for a competition
The chauvinism of the judges - nothing more, nothing less. How can you really tell if it's good chili ? It tastes good when you eat it, and doesn't give you gas.
And as a 31 year naturalized Texan, I use both ground meat and two kinds of beans.