Submitted Article
RAINSVILLE, ALA.--Northeast Alabama Community College is proud to announce the creation of the Mustang Gaming Esports Club. This club will give students the opportunity to participate in Esports and compete against other college students in Alabama and beyond. Esports is a growing sport and the Esports industry is currently a multi-billion-dollar industry. There are many opportunities for work and play within the industry. The concept is no different from any other sport. Students work together to practice and compete as a team. Teams typically vary in size from 2-5 players with some opportunities for one-on-one competitions.
“We are very pleased to get Esports going at Northeast,” stated NACC President Dr. David Campbell. “I thank Mrs. Patricia Falk, Mrs. Barbara Kilgore, Mr. Bryon Miller, Mr. Noah Allen, Mr. Lee Garrett, Mr. Kyle Ealy and all our staff for putting this together for us. Northeast prides itself on having the best in educational technology and this affirms what we have available and how much we emphasize educational technology. Esports is very popular and a rapidly growing sport. Some major companies even consider gaming levels in hiring decisions. Gaming takes long and short-term strategy, creative and critical thinking, and quick decision making to be successful. All the challenges of innovative and high-level thinking are there. We are excited about having this competition for our students."
Upon advertising the new club to students on campus, Esports coaches and sponsors at NACC were pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest expressed by students. “We knew this was a growing sport and that there would be interest, but we were excited to see how quickly students jumped onboard,” said Bryon Miller, Mustang Gaming Sponsor and Computer Science Instructor at NACC. “There are so many opportunities here for students to learn, compete, and participate with this club.” Opportunities in Esports expand beyond just competition. Students may commentate on the sport, create video content, manage a team, write computer programs, or develop games, analyze game and player statistics, and much more.
"We have been anxiously waiting for all our equipment and furniture to arrive and that day is finally here" said Patricia Falk, Educational Technology Director, and Esports Planning Committee Member. A setup day has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 26th, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. in the Business Education Building, Rm 206. All interested students are welcome to come and help with the room setup.