Hastings College eSports Program Joins NECC For Spring Season
Hastings College announced this month they will be joining the National eSports Collegiate Conference in time for the upcoming Spring 2022 season. The Mustangs debuted their eSports program back in the fall, building up their players and establishing an eSports arena. This marks them as the 163rd North American member of the NECC.
What Games will Hastings College Compete in?
Hastings will compete in four of the NECC sponsored games —Valorant, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege and Overwatch. As well as offering two weekend tournaments for Hearthstone and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Each team will compete once a week against other schools for nine weeks, with a chance at competing in the NECC postseason tournaments in April. The program currently has 21 students competing across the different games.
Mustangs New Head Coach
Hastings College graduate Andy Chase is the coach for the Mustangs eSports program, helping build the teams and guiding them in their practice.
“I am excited for our program to compete in the NECC,” Chase said. “It allows us to be competitive immediately and gets us an opportunity to showcase what we have been working on during practices every night. I also appreciate how welcoming the NECC and Commissioner VanRyn has been to us as we went through this early building phase of our program.”
The NECC started in 2020, building up their conference, with now over 100 different colleges and universities competing.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Hastings College to the NECC,” said NECC Commissioner Jacob VanRyn. “From my conversations with coach Andy Chase about his program and the passion he has for the Hastings community and his players, it was obvious that he is the type of person we want to work with in the NECC. We look forward to welcoming their community and watching them compete beginning this spring.”
The NECC Spring 2022 regular season begins in early February.
For more collegiate esports coverage, stay tuned to Checkpoint On Campus!
Written by Carter Barnes