Dave Shapiro, eSports director of operations, announced that LVC will add Call of Duty and Paladins to its competitive options for esports athletes this fall. The additions bring the total of games in which LVC student-athletes will compete to nine, including six not played competitively by many collegiate teams in the region. The College also competes nationally and internationally in Counter Strike (CS:GO), Fighting Games such as Super Smash Bros, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, and Smite.

Dave Shapiro, senior director of information technology and chief information officer, and Coulson Miller ’19, a business administration major with a minor in computer & data science, were interviewed in a story by York Daily Record video journalist Cameron Clark regarding LVC having the state’s first varsity intercollegiate eSports team. The video and accompanying photo slide show was picked up by USA Today and ran on its home page.

Thomas Yantis ’22, business administration, and his eSports teammates were featured in a piece by WMPT Fox 43 reporter Jack Eble. LVC’s team, the first varsity intercollegiate team in Pennsylvania, competed against Penn State and Ohio State at a tournament in Harrisburg. Yantis, from Harrisburg, is a member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania eSports Coalition, a non-profit that advocates for the eSports industry.

Thomas Yantis ’22, an incoming business administration major and one of the College’s first-ever esports recruits, was recently featured in a WHTM TV 27 (ABC) news story. Yantis is one of six members of the newly established eSports Coalition, only the second such coalition in the U.S. According to its executive director, the eSports Coalition has three objectives: “advocacy, education, and promotion.” The other five members are gaming, government, and technology professionals from across the state.

Lebanon Valley College, the first intercollegiate varsity esports program in Pennsylvania, now offers official esports gear through Akquire, which also supplies merchandise for institutions such as the University of Arizona, University of Connecticut, and Georgia Tech University. Valley esports fans can purchase t-shirts, game jerseys, hoodies, and flags on the Akquire site of through the esports link on GoDutchmen.com.

Nicholas Pollak ’18, a chemistry and physics dual major with a minor in mathematics, and Ben Witmer ’19, digital communications, were recently interviewed by MTV–U. Nick and Ben are part of LVC’s intercollegiate varsity esports program, the first in Pennsylvania.

Esports was the featured cover story in the Lancaster-area newspapers this week. Dave Shapiro ’99, senior director of information technology & chief information officer, and Ben Witmer ’19, digital communications, were interviewed in “Lebanon Valley College students line up to play school’s newest varsity sport – video gaming.” Shapiro and Witmer were interviewed about being part of the first-ever intercollegiate esports teams in history.

The addition of the College’s newest varsity program, esports, has been noted in a wide variety of outlets, including WITF, ESPN, Fox 43, and the Lebanon Daily News. The team, the first varsity program in the state, defeated the University of South Carolina, Sumter in it its first scrimmage.

Lebanon Valley College has announced it will add esports to its varsity athletic program in the spring of 2018. Esports will serve as Lebanon Valley College’s 26th varsity intercollegiate athletic program and its first co-ed sport. It will be the fifth new program added since the beginning of the decade, along with men’s and women’s lacrosse (2009–10), women’s golf (2013–14), and women’s ice hockey (2016–17).