Bolivar, Mo. — The Southwest Baptist University eSports squad opens its inaugural varsity season at 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15 from SBU's eSports arena in Goodson Student Union against Columbia College. 
 
"I'm beyond excited," SBU eSports coach Chris Allison said. "We've selected a great group of players and they've worked extremely hard over the last several weeks preparing for our inaugural season. I feel confident that they are going to make SBU proud."
 
The eSports program, which SBU launched in the 2016 fall semester, has seven players on its roster, several of whom participated in SBU's "League of Legends" club, which was established by the Student Association in January 2016.
 
Team members (with their summoner names) include: captain Shane Roberts (BaconOP), Steven Verlautz (FoolishKings), Joseph Reyes (LordVadarem), Sean Bates (Bouse Ranger), Michael Morley (PunGuy), Jacob McCammon (Jaskco) and Mitchell Northern (TimeRuptured).
 
The Bearcats will be competing in the "League of Legends" Midwest 9 Division of the Collegiate StarLeague for the 2016-17 academic year. "League of Legends" is a five-player team game in which the team works together to destroy an enemy team's base, while protecting its own.
 
SBU will also face teams from Mississippi State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Washington University (St. Louis) during the 2016 fall season.
 
"In a very short period of time, SBU's innovation has led us to the front lines of an emerging sport with tons of potential to attract new groups of students," Allison said.
 
As a varsity program, SBU is a charter member of the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACeSports), a new organization founded and initially funded by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). NACeSports is the governing organization for varsity collegiate eSports programs.
 
ESports, or "electronic sports," is an emerging, competitive gaming scene in which teams compete in popular video game titles. Competition is facilitated online, allowing both teams to compete from their home arenas, eliminating the need for travel.
 
Games will be broadcast on SBU's www.twitch.tv channel "SBUniv."
 
For information on the eSports program, contact Chris Allison at (417) 328-1744 or callison@sbuniv.edu or visit the eSports team page at sbubearcats.com.