B&SC Bobcats Announce ESports Athletic Program
Bryant & Stratton College Bobcats Announce Esports Athletic Program
The College is Now Recruiting Talented Gamers to Join its Inaugural Team
Parma, O.H. (August 10, 2021) – Bryant & Stratton College in Ohio has announced that it is now recruiting for its inaugural Bobcats Esports team launching September 2021 at its Parma campus. The announcement comes as the campus received official status as a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), allowing the College to compete with other collegiate programs nationally. The College is in the process of establishing scholarship opportunities and developing a state-of-the-art esports lab on campus for the benefit of its incoming esports student athletes. This will be the seventh sport in the Bryant & Stratton College Bobcats Athletic program in Ohio.
To lead the program, the College has hired Esports Coach Carson Clarke, a former top 500 player in North America in Overwatch. Clarke brings extensive coaching experience to his new role with the Bobcats, having formerly served as the coach of Tennessee Tech University’s Varsity Overwatch team where he effectively led them from a nationwide collegiate ranking of 130th to 17th.
“Over the past few years, esports has become more widely recognized for its status as a legitimate and highly-skilled collegiate and professional sport,” said Clarke. “Bryant & Stratton College was one of the few innovative higher education institutions to adopt esports as a collegiate sport early on and quickly develop champion teams, and I am honored to lead the program in its inaugural year here in Parma.”
With over 100 higher education institutions in the NACE nationwide, the popularity of esports continues to rise. To match the demand, Bryant & Stratton College has launched three collegiate esports programs over the last three years, including the introduction of competing teams across its campuses in Wisconsin (2019), Virginia (2019), and Buffalo (2020).
The College has also made significant renovations and expansions to its campus infrastructures in the past couple of years to encourage the competitive success of its esports student athletes. Most recently, the College made sizable investments into the development of professional-grade gaming labs in its Buffalo, N.Y., Hampton and Virginia Beach, V.A, and Wauwatosa, W.I. locations so student athletes could train more effectively for national tournaments in Overwatch, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Smash Brothers, Smite, Rocket League, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and more.
No competitive experience is necessary to try out for the 2020-2021 Bobcats program at Bryant & Stratton College in Parma, with the only eligibility requirement being that players must be actively pursuing a degree at the College.
Existing and incoming students interested in trying out for the team can submit recruitment forms at https://bryantstrattonohio.prestosports.com/sports/esports/2021-22/eSports_Recruitment_Form.
ABOUT BRYANT & STRATTON COLLEGE
Founded in 1854, Bryant & Stratton College has built its reputation and success on a commitment to excellence and high standards. We're proud to be regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (267) 284-5000). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Bryant & Stratton College has campus locations in New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as an Online Education division, and a Continuing Education department. For over 165 years, Bryant & Stratton College has offered students access to career-relevant education leading to bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificates in the fields of healthcare, business, criminal justice, design, financial services, hospitality, human resources, paralegal studies and information technology. In addition to access to education, Bryant & Stratton College offers students access to tools to help ensure their greatest chance at success through their Career Life Prep® program. Bryant & Stratton works with students to best map individual career paths - teaching the soft skills employers value most, helping establish valuable professional connections and internships and offering career services support even after graduation. Bryant & Stratton College is committed to helping students succeed in their education and beyond.