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Esports Excellence – Christopher Turner
| Tuesday, April 13th, 2021 |

Esports Excellence – Christopher Turner

Christopher Turner, the esports general manager and head coach at Southern University and Southern University Laboratory School, is proud to be involved in esports across multiple education levels. As a coach that holds his players and community near and dear to his heart, Turner is excited to see how the ecosystem will continue to develop as technology does as well.

“I’m the only coach within the nation that runs middle school, high school, and collegiate (esports) all under one campus,” said Turner. “Just to see the growth between GPA’s rising, attendance rising, and just seeing my players and people that are involved just have a great interest in the growth of it all. There’s definitely a family environment here, and we’re just excited to see it grow even further.”

Turner also shared that he was excited about the ongoing partnership between the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). Through this partnership, NACE has facilitated Rocket League and Madden 21 matches between SWAC schools.

“I’m very excited. Some of my counterparts that I look up to, that are peers as well,” said Turner, “just to be in the same space with those guys that I know have programs that put students first, and it’s not all about winning championships, but providing better opportunities for our students.”  

In regards to the benefits of combining esports with education, Turner was focused on the long term impact the experience would have on his students.

“Surely the importance of it is all the things that you get with traditional sports, along with the ecosystem of STEM-related jobs that the kids can get into,” said Turner. “Whether it be shoutcasting, computer science, coding, there’s a plethora of careers that you can get into, and I think that’s the icing on the cake for this particular ecosystem.”

Watch the video linked below to learn more about Coach Turner’s expectations for this season, or follow @subr_esports on twitter to support the Southern University Esports program.