“We’re looking for people who want to compete, those who want to compete at a collegiate level and grow; they want to get better and want to learn.”
Scholarships of up to $4,000 a year will now be available to new, incoming students who are active competitors and engaged with Kettering University’s Esports teams.
The University’s Esports program, which consists of teams for the games League of Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Valorant, started in January 2020. About 70 students participate in the program.
Some of the teams’ achievements include:
- Varsity Rainbow Six Siege: Finished in the top eight of 114 teams in the FaceIT Rainbow Six Siege Collegiate Championship and were the Fall 2020 Champions of the Michigan Bandwidth Bowl
- Varsity Overwatch: Finished 17th of 85 in the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) Fall Overwatch Championship and finished in the top 60 of 307 schools in the Spring 2021 Activision Blizzard Collegiate Championship
- Varsity League of Legends: Finished fourth in the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 Michigan Bandwidth Bowls
- Varsity Rocket League: Finished third in the Spring 2021 Michigan Bandwidth Bowl
To qualify for the scholarships, students must apply and be academically admitted to Kettering University, be enrolled full-time for the immediate upcoming academic year, compete in the games played by Kettering Esports teams and receive a recommendation for consideration by Kettering Esports Head Coach Dan Nowaczyk as a preferred future member of the University Esports team.
“We’re looking for people who want to compete, those who want to compete at a collegiate level and grow; they want to get better and want to learn,” Nowaczyk said. “They’re looking to develop themselves as a person and as an Esports athlete.”
There also will be rank requirements to ensure students interested have experience playing the games. Nowaczyk said students should be at least in the top 50 percent of their games, and if students misrepresent their rankings, they will lose their scholarships.
The scholarships will be renewable annually, based on the team head coach’s recommendation.
For more information or to submit a Kettering University Esports application, visit kettering.edu/admissions/scholarships-kettering. For more information about joining Kettering's Esports team, email Nowaczyk at dnowaczy@kettering.edu.
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