Early this morning we have heard news that our program is losing all of our authority figures and going further will not be backed as a varsity sport. This means that we will not receive funding for our program to enter competitions, fix stuff when our pcs bug out, and improve the facility.

Over 40+ students competing on teams will not be able to anymore. This does not include all of the other students and young adults who come to the facility for our open-game nights and events. We will have no access to coaches or a leader of the program and will be forced to convert to an “esports club”. This will limit our student-athletes from showcasing their skills even further after winning 3 titles just this year.

This past school year, the esports program placed second in the National championship and won three division titles. In addition to these accomplishments we have also been brought into the school news broadcast where they relay our scores.  We have fostered exchange students who helped us lead to our first ever program win. We hosted a local high-school and let them spend a day in the facility to experience what it would be like to be apart of our teams. In addition to this, our Director, Harley Adler worked every day to recruit new talent across and out of the state. Due to this change now all of the hard work of students and faculty will be erased.

Marywood University made this abrupt decision and has little to no plan going forward on how to support our students and our learning opportunities in this program. Signing this petition will show the school how much this program is cared for and that we want to keep our community strong and alive.

Take it a step even further by reaching out by email to the athletics and student experience departments in hopes of making change.

Speak out and speak loud. Don’t let our voices get pushed aside like our accomplishments have.