February 18, 2022 – Northland student-athletes will score big next fall with a new competitive eSports program. The Pioneers are leaping into the popular eSports arena, becoming one of only a handful of institutions across the state to include eSports as part of its intercollegiate athletics program. Through teams at each of its campuses, Northland students will compete as members of the National Junior College Athletic Association eSports (NJCAAE), where they can experience team dynamics, school representation, and campus life.

"As we continuously seek out creative opportunities to enhance the student experience here at Northland, we felt bringing something such as gaming would be a great and inclusive addition to Pioneers Athletics," Northland President Sandy Kiddoo said. "Gaming brings so much more than fun for our students, it is also an ingenious way to sharpen their soft skills such as being a team player, which is a vital workforce skill."

What is eSports?

In brief, eSports (short for electronic sports) is best described as competitive video gaming. Competitors from different leagues or teams face off in popular video games such as Rocket League, Super Smash Brothers, Rainbow 6 Seige, Overwatch, and Madden NFL. Millions of fans worldwide watch these teams compete via live events or tune in on TV or online.

Over the years, as eSports has become more of an emerging community, college organizations have sprung up organically to help push the next generation of eSports competitors and coaches. This growth was enough to cause the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) to create an eSports association in 2019. The Northland program will be affiliated with the National Junior College Athletic Association eSports (NJCAAE), which provides two-year colleges with governance, competition, and official national championships.

Currently, the NJCAAE has over 125 participating colleges with over 2500 student gamers.

Pioneers eSports

Northland has been in pursuit of additional extracurricular opportunities for students. The addition of eSports will create the eighth sport for the Pioneers Athletics and, like Clay Target, which was added in 2018, will be co-ed.

Lisa Bottem, Northland's Interim Dean of Student Affairs, oversee's Pioneer Athletics and expressed excitement about the new offering. "We know esports will be a very popular addition to our athletic offerings at Northland. Gaming has become extremely popular across the world and will continue to grow collegiately as this competitive sport attracts participants from diverse age groups and backgrounds. We already have students competing in these popular games, and now they can play as Northland Pioneers to compete against students here in Minnesota and across the country."

Northland's athletics department is one of a few in the state to incorporate eSports into their current roster of sports. Just in time for fall semester 2022, Northland plans to launch the Pioneer eSports Team and intends to offer both a fall and spring eSports season.

"We will be looking to begin recruiting for our esports team very soon," Pioneer eSports team coach and Information Technology Specialist Tom Henderson said. "We know gaming is extremely popular among our student body, so we hope to attract as many gamers in the region as possible to represent Northland while competing against other community college students from across the state and nation."

To be eligible for the Pioneer eSports, individuals must be full-time students enrolled in a degree program and maintain a GPA of 2.0. 

Northland offers seven other athletic programs, including men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's softball, women's volleyball, co-ed clay target, and men's wrestling. For the latest news, updates, and information about the Northland Pioneers athletics program, visit northlandpioneers.com. Stay connected and don't miss any of the action by following the Pioneers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and PioneersTV.