NCU Esports is Back Online, This Time With a New Teammate!
The spring semester is here and our North Central University Esports teams are beginning the program’s second-ever season. Last semester was a huge step taken for the program with NCU being represented in four collegiate esports titles: Rocket League, Valorant, League of Legends, and Fortnite. NCU’s teams saw many victories and some tough losses and are ready to come back even stronger this season.
With the announcement of the esports program last January, NCU opened the door to a new world of collegiate competition and now meaningful partnerships. NCU’s Athletic Director, Mike Knipe, has recently found a way to broaden the program and connect local missions with online gaming. In a meeting on Tuesday, NCU’s esports athletes were introduced to Larry McKenzie or “Coach McKenzie.” Coach McKenzie is a six-time high school championship basketball coach who has 25 years of business experience and 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector.
Coach McKenzie is now building a program called “STEM Nation” and one thing that they aim to do is introduce urban youth to esports through after-school activities. McKenzie stated in the meeting on Tuesday that he is hoping to “[use] gaming and esports as an alternative to some of the gun violence that is going on in the city right now.” NCU is partnering with STEM Nation by allowing groups of local middle and high school students to use the esports lab between 4-8 pm on weekdays.
A select number of NCU’s esports athletes will have the opportunity to coach and mentor a group of local students. Each athlete will guide students through life-building activities and coach them in their respective esports titles. This is a great opportunity for esports athletes to get involved in ministry through their passion.
We will continue to post updates as the esports program develops but for now tune in to NCU’s twitch account where everything is streamed live!
To learn more about NCU esports or sign up for recruitment, visit the NCU athletics page.
North Central develops partnership with STEM Nation!
