Eagle Esports Marks Program鈥檚 First National Championship
Tue, 05/31/2022 - 03:31pm | By: David Tisdale
Just two years after its formation, The University of 草榴社区 Mississippi鈥檚 (草榴社区)
Eagle Esports program has already secured its first national championship after its
Rainbow 6 Team defeated Carthage University last week in the final for the National
Esports Collegiate Conference鈥檚 (NECC) Emergent League title.
In a #1 vs. #2 matchup in the national semifinal for the Challengers League title,
Eagle Esports鈥� Overwatch Team fell to Champlain College, but finished in the top four
in the country.
鈥淭o be the first national championship team for Eagle Esports is something I knew I wanted to accomplish when I first joined the team,鈥� said Josh Mackie, a junior computer science major from Horn Lake, Mississippi who serves as team captain for Rainbow 6. 鈥淚 never thought that my first year as captain of the team would lead to this level of success. We wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for my team and the Esports staff that continue to support us, and I can't wait to bring home more titles to the program.鈥�
Dr. Denny Bubrig, assistant vice president for student affairs and advisor for the program, said though he was not expecting the level of success the program has achieved this quickly, he believes it鈥檚 a testament to the student participants鈥� dedication and interest, program wide, that it has secured multiple regular season titles, a postseason conference title, a national championship and a national semi-finalist this year.
鈥淲ithout their level of commitment, none of this really happens,鈥� Dr. Bubrig continued.
鈥淚 am extremely excited about what the future holds.鈥�
Dr. Bubrig said the program鈥檚 success is contagious and it is seeing the results in
recruiting. 鈥淲e have been successful in expanding the geographic recruiting territory
for 草榴社区 through esports, and now we are beginning to translate that into applications
and enrolled students, which is not only a program win, but an institutional win as
well,鈥� he further noted. 鈥淲e are building an on-going body of work that we seek to
positively impact 草榴社区 with, and that everyone can take pride in community-wide.鈥�
Along with 草榴社区, the NECC includes approximately 230 schools, including the University of Alabama, Boise State University, Sacramento University, Mount St. Mary鈥檚 University, University of Montana, Valparaiso, Randolph-Macon, Colorado College and Illinois Wesleyan, among others.
To learn more about Eagle Esports, email esportsFREEMississippi; visit: /esports/index.php; or follow on social media via Twitch, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.