9/24/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Athletics Department can confirm that, in addition to competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (NJCAAE) organization this season, Lackawanna College Esports will also be competing in the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) for the 2024-2025 scholastic year, starting in the Fall 2024 semester.
 
"I can't express how excited I am for our inaugural NECC season," says Robert Dee, Lackawanna College Esports Coordinator, "We are looking to make a splash on the national scene with our Rocket League, Rainbow 6, and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate teams."
 
The NECC was established in 2020 and is home to more than 400 colleges and universities throughout North America, ranging from other junior colleges to major universities. Several local schools compete in the NECC, including Marywood University, Wilkes University, King's College, and Misericordia University.
 
"Marywood, Wilkes, King's, and Misericordia are all NECC members. This will help us build a local rivalry that you see with traditional sports," says Dee, now entering his second season as the head of the Esports department at Lackawanna College, "Most importantly, it will allow our institutions to work together to grow Esports locally in NEPA.
 
"High school Esports is still very new in the area, and we can all work together to help build that up."
 
Lackawanna College will initially compete in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Rainbow Six, and Rocket League, with hopes to add other titles to NECC competition, which also sponsors leagues in games like Valorant, League of Legends, and Overwatch 2.
 
"We've had our eye for the past few years on the NECC, watching them grow and (seeing) how much they care about their members," says Dee. "The NECC has a core group of titles that we compete in, as well as one-off semester tournaments for games outside of their core group.
 
"We always want to give our student-athletes the best possible experience, and joining the NECC was a no-brainer."
 
The Falcons have made noise at a national level recently on the Esports stage, with Rocket League winning back-to-back national tournaments in NJCAAE competition, taking both the Spring 2023 and Fall 2023 NJCAAE championships. Rainbow Six has made in-roads as a formidable competitor, and the Falcons have several talented individuals making up their Super Smash Brothers roster.
 
"Our Rainbow Six team was placed in the second-highest division, and our Rocket League team was placed in the third division," says Dee, "This will keep the competition levels mostly equal, and will provide a fun experience for our student-athletes."
 
NECC competition gets underway on Tuesday, September 24^th, when the Falcons will compete in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate competition against Concord University out of West Virginia. The match is set for a 7:00pm ET start and will be streamed live on the Lackawanna College Esports Twitch channel at twitch.tv/lackawannaedu.
 
The NJCAAE competition for Lackawanna College Esports gets underway next week, where the Falcons will compete in the above three titles, as well as EA FC 25, Hearthstone, and Street Fighter 6.