Conestoga Condors esports has been honoured with five National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) award nominations, marking the first NACE nominations for the program, which began in 2020.
Conestoga's dedicated hub at the Waterloo campus supports the college’s growing esports ecosystem. The college also plans to open a 10,000 square-foot esports arena in spring 2025.
“Since 2020, Condors esports has rapidly emerged from an online-only post-COVID initiative to a fully realized, nationally ranked, and successful varsity esports program with multiple verticals,” said Zack Dodge, supervisor, Esports Operations.
Dodge, who was Conestoga’s first full-time employee dedicated to esports, is among the nominees in the Emerging Director of the Year category. Conestoga’s other nominees include Aditya Shah, esports media coordinator, for Support Staff of The Year, and Eric Potts for Call of Duty Coach of the Year. The program is also nominated for Emerging Program of the Year and Outstanding Production Team.
“NACE is a best-in-class third-party league that attracts hundreds of collegiate esports teams annually, so our recognition in five categories shows we are emerging as a true Canadian and North American leader in the sector,” added Dodge, who also took time to reflect on his personal nomination.
“I am honored to be nominated for the Emerging Director of the Year by NACE. This recognition gives me a great sense of fulfillment in the alignment of my personal passion and career at Conestoga. Supporting and guiding the growth of Condors esports, our teams and athletes, student recreation, and the development of our esports facilities has been incredibly rewarding.”
The winners will be announced at the NACE National Convention 2024 at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, July 17 to 19.
In addition to NACE events, Condors esports participates in a variety of other third-party collegiate leagues, highly competitive developer leagues, which are sanctioned by game publishers, and numerous tournaments. The program also includes an all-female Valorant White team that competes in tournaments, including Game Changers, which is exclusively for marginalized genders.
Among the notable 2023-2024 accomplishments for Condors esports are a NACE Varsity Plus Championship, finishing top 4 in the Canadian Nationals Tournament, a Red Bull Campus Clutch semi-final finish, and having teams steadily ranked in the Esport Canada Power Rankings throughout the season. The Varsity Call of Duty team also went undefeated in the NACE Varsity Premiere winter 2024 regular season.
“We’re very proud of what we have been able to accomplish in a short period with our esports programs at Conestoga,” said Andrew Bates, director, Sport and Recreation.
“We’ve quickly become an industry leader thanks to Zack, Aditya, Eric and all of the coaches, players, full-time employees, student part-time employees and volunteers who have built a strong culture of success and teamwork. This high level of achievement is not only reflected in the team’s results, but in the contribution to student life that our full suite of esports programs has provided for not only competing student-athletes, but all students interested in gaming.”
In 2022, Conestoga opened a dedicated hub at the Waterloo campus to support the college’s growing esports ecosystem. The first of its kind in Waterloo Region, the space hosts weekly programming, events, and open lab time to students, while also providing access to hands-on learning for students in Conestoga’s recently launched Esports Marketing and Event Management graduate certificate program.
“With professional staff, coaches, a pair of facilities, and academic and community integrations, Condors esports is now providing thousands of monthly gaming sessions, a holistic athlete experience, best-in-class live stream productions, meaningful classroom integrations, and more to the passionate gaming community at Conestoga,” added Dodge.
The college also plans to open a 10,000 square-foot esports arena in spring 2025, also at its Waterloo campus, which hosts Condors esports programs as well as the college’s School of Applied Computer Science & Information Technology. The state-of-the-art space will allow for high-performance play, high-quality streaming and production, and innovation in gaming and simulation with top-tier gaming PCs, a premier console station, immersive virtual reality and simulation stations, a full production suite, premier competitive stage, and athletic team operations room.
Launched through Athletics & Recreation in 2020, the Condors esports program integrates collegiate esports into traditional post-secondary athletics and provides a varsity student-athlete experience with a growing roster of teams ranging from sports-based to battle arena genres competing in various North American leagues. To learn more about Conestoga’s competitive esports program, visit Condors Esports.