NEUMONT ESPORTS ORIGIN STORY

In April of 2021 Joseph Rodriguez, a current student in Neumont’s Information Systems degree program, decided he we wanted more from the Neumont esports club that he presided over. The esports club was a relaxed space that allowed students to hone their skills but lacked the thrill of competing against other teams. Joseph approached Neumont staff about his idea of expanding the esports club into a full-fledged program that would represent the school on a collegiate level.

After getting the support needed from the school’s president, Dr. Aaron Reed, Joseph recruited a team of officers to aid him in his quest to transform the esports club into a competitive program. The team of esports officers spent countless hours organizing, researching equipment, and pitching their ideas to a panel of Neumont staff.

*Joseph Rodriguez mees prospective students at FReX.*

*Student Mark Nusser demos his lightsaber for fellow esports players.*

Beginning in November 2021 Joseph, the esports officers, and some supporting staff converted a classroom into a state-of-the-art esports arena with 6 Syber Cube Extreme 400s with customized GPUs, graphite desks, Corsair chairs, Logitech G PRO X headsets, and a TV to help with film sessions. The same group also built a separate room for student-casters to provide streamed play-by-play and color commentary on the school’s Twitch page.

*Neumont Esports members pose in The Llama Base.*

During the process the esports club went from 10 students to a full-fledged program with 60 members playing on 6 teams (League of Legends, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Call of Duty, Valorant, and Overwatch) with a constitution, tryout structure, player contracts, and personalized jerseys. Currently the program is affiliated with NACE and is gearing up for the fall tournament season.

Joseph’s efforts paid off demonstrating how some passion, motivation and drive can take you a long way. Joseph will be graduating in the summer of 2022, but his legacy will live on in Neumont lore for many years to come.