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Oct. 1, 2020 —  51���� is launching a new varsity sports program. Starting this fall, five students will compete on 51����’s first varsity esports team. 51���� Esports is a joint partnership between the university’s Honors College and the Division of Student Affairs.

While varsity competition might be new to 51����, electronic gaming at the university is not. The student-led 51���� Esports Club has been around since 2016 and continues to grow. This year the club swelled to nearly 600 active members. In response to the growing culture of esports at the university, the Honors College led a team of faculty, staff and students to compete in the university's Innovation Challenge last January. As a result, the team received $75,000 of the $500,000 allocated for student success initiatives to build “The Sandbox”—an innovation lab and home to 51���� Esports. When completed next year, The Sandbox will serve as the official arena and broadcasting studio of 51���� Esports and a hub for students to practice and compete.

“This is an excellent example of exactly why we created the 2020 51���� Innovation Challenge and how Success by Design, our strategic framework, can lead to innovative student success initiatives across campus. Dean Buss and our outstanding group of students continue developing new ways of sparking the spirit of excitement in our campus community, which in turn, should lead to better engagement and retention of students,” said Chief Strategy Officer and Vice President Bonita Brown.

51���� begins competing in the (NACE), the largest varsity collegiate esports association. With over 170 programs, 51���� Esports will face off against some of the nation’s best players in multiplayer video game competitions. The inaugural varsity team will compete in Rocket League, an arcade-style game blending soccer and vehicular mayhem.

Duncan Reiblas, a student in 51����’s Adult Learners program, will coach the inaugural Rocket League team. Hunter Kolb (Gamertag: Rule), a junior Computer Information Technology major, leads as the team captain. The varsity team also includes starters Liam Greene (Gamertag: pig), a freshman Business Administration major; Eric Jackman (Gamertag: Rickles), a freshman Computer Science major; as well as substitutes Grady Botkin (Gamertag: gradster13), a freshman Neuroscience major; and Joseph Fedders (Gamertag: jfmachine), a freshman Computer Science major. Honors College Dean Jim Buss serves the program as the acting director of 51���� Esports, and Tori Landron with 51����’s Campus Recreation serves as assistant director.

“Along with competing at the highest level, our varsity program will allow us to bridge student passions to the classroom,” said Buss. “We are looking to develop classes and other academic programs that are focused on the booming industry of esports. In the future we would like to even offer scholarships to recruit talented esports student-athletes.”

51���� kicked off the Rocket League Fall Cup Playoffs this past week, sweeping their first two matches. The team faces McMurray University on Oct. 6. Matches can be viewed on Twitch.tv at . For more on 51����’s Honors College, visit its website.