Support our Student-Competitors on their Path to Graduation!

Our Dual Needs

Super Smash Bros.
Since we began our varsity esports program in 2020, we have supported hundreds of student-competitors as they battled for Esports Collegiate Conference championships and other titles. In the years that have followed, we've had the opportunity to expand the program into new titles to work with increasingly diverse groups of students and with our upcoming expansion into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, we'll have the opportunity to work with the fighting game community at NIU, a group previously not represented in varsity competition.

When Esports Collegiate begins official SSB:U competition in the Fall 2025 semester, our students will have the opportunity to compete in collegiate competitions, such as NECC (the National Esports Collegiate Conference) and NACE (the National Association of Collegiate Esports) and to participate in local and regional tournaments, such as Combo Breaker. Competition will be a mix of singles - where each student competes individually - and crew battles - where the students are grouped into a team of 4 in a format similar to a relay race. As such, we expect to have 8 students (4 primary and 4 substitutes) as part of our varsity roster. Take a look at the video below to see a preview of the format.

Travel Fund

One of the goals of our program is to enrich the student experience for our scholastic competitors and while virtual competition allows students to compete across campuses online, we've consistently heard the students' desire for opportunities to travel to compete in-person. During the 2024-25 academic year, our Rocket League team traveled to Sandusky, OH for the ESC Fall 2024 LAN Championships and our Overwatch 2 and League of Legends teams traveled to Oxford, OH and the campus of Miami University for the ESC Spring 2025 LAN Championships. We have consistently heard feedback that marquee events and travel experiences have helped our students to not only choose to attend NIU and be a part of our program, but also to stay at NIU on the pathway to graduation! Watch the video below to get a glimpse of the experience travel affords our students.

Why support this project?

By supporting this project, you'll be supporting our ability to provide scholarships and unique experiences to each of our students. Our varsity players are expected to commit between 10-15 hours each week to practice and play, in addition to their studies, and the scholarship helps support their commitment to success and improvement. Additionally, you'll be supporting the ability for our students to travel to compete and represent NIU across the local, regional and perhaps even national stage. These experiences have an impact on our students' recruitment, retention and graduation efforts. Any gift of any size strengthens our ability to continue to support our student-participants on their path towards graduation!

What is NIU Esports?

NIU Esports is an inclusive program for gamers of all backgrounds, abilities and skill levels to play video games and have fun together. Our goal is to position the NIU Esports team as a national competitor and leader of collegiate esports in northern Illinois and our club as a welcoming place to support the social and educational aspects of video gaming.

Our Pillars
Build community

Through the Esports Arena on the DeKalb Campus, we've built a space to gather, play, compete and learn from one another.

We hold events throughout the year to help connect NIU students, alumni, high school and community college students and anyone who enjoys playing video games.

Each year, we host an Esports Career Lecture Series, where industry professionals share the story of their path to a career in esports.

Promote healthy gaming practices

Our program puts gaming and competition into perspective. Our code of conduct promotes positive, constructive behavior, and emphasizes a balance between playing video games, studying, resting and building positive relationships. We find that by creating places to compete together in person, players look after one another and help support that balance.

Support new technologies in learning and research

Our Esports Arena provides an exciting setting for faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students to do esports-related research in their fields of study. We offer the opportunity to teach courses or conduct research studies using the equipment in our facilities.

Our Varsity Program

NIU is a founding member of the Esports Collegiate Conference (ESC) that officially launched in the summer of 2020. The 2020-21 academic year was our first competing in the ESC against the other Mid-America Conference member schools and Northeastern University. We have four varsity teams, playing Rocket League, League of Legends, Valorant and Overwatch. We currently have approximately 30 student players and four coaches, which will expand to 40 student players and 5 coaches across 5 titles with the addition of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the Fall.

Each of our five teams practices and competes from the NIU Esports Arena in Altgeld Hall, a dedicated space on campus that is also home to the Huskie Gaming Club, Esports Open Play and the IHSEA State Championships. The space serves students with open-play hours that help to spread awareness of the benefits of esports, while also providing a place for students to find community and have fun.