Over the past year, the SNU esports team has grown tremendously in both size and quality, now emerging as a competitive, multi-team, Division 1-level esports program. After recently claiming a win in the championships, the esports team has proven its ballet of legendary players and continues to increase in skill and popularity. Now in the spring semester of 2025, the esports team is busier than ever, with every team having a chance to play as well as improved streaming for anyone who wants to watch these amazing events live.
Derrek Bley, a junior business finance major, speaks on the work that goes behind creating such a team. “Esports is very similar to normal sports. We play as a part of the GAC conference just like football and other sports. We have games, practices, and championships as well.” These games have expanded to now include Rocket League, Halo, League of Legends, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros, and Call of Duty. However, these competitions do not just stop at the GAC conference level. Drew Middendorf, a senior commercial music production major, comments, “While we compete within our own GAC conference in Rocket League, League of Legends, and Super Smash Bros, we also compete nationally through the National Esports Collegiate Conferences (NECC). This way, our teams have the opportunity to play colleges nationally and in any division.”
Crafting such a dynamic team requires building a true community together. Fortunately, the esports team has just that. “We try to do a couple of fun events a semester that can help get people involved. Usually, friendships start within the individual teams and expand,” Bley explains. “We try to show up to other people’s events/games and show support.” Middendorf also adds, “Our guys build community within their teams by practicing with each other. The more you play your game with your teammates, the closer you get as a group.”
This community was both disrupted and strengthened through the tragic passing of Joey Smith, whose memory continues to live on with the players. Middendorf shares, “Not only is there a hole on multiple of our teams without him, but we lost one of the biggest spark plugs in our program. We have had to learn how to fill the gaps and encourage each other and have grown closer as a group in the process.”
In honor of their beloved friend, the esports team put on a fundraiser for the Smith family just this past Thursday, raising over $1400. Middendorf comments on the success of the fundraiser, stating, “It was completely student-led, so it may not have been the most organized event, but it definitely served its purpose. Joey had a heart for giving to others and that is something we want to continue within our program.”
This fundraiser marks only the beginning of an event-packed semester for the esports team. Be sure to check out http://twitch.tv/snu_esports for past streams as well as upcoming races as our players compete once again for the championship.
Photos by: SNU Creative