SUNY Canton Esports Adds 'Rainbow Six Siege' and 'Rocket League' for Fall 2019

The college anticipates 100 new esports students competing in eight games during the next semester.

Canton, NY (08/22/2019) — SUNY Canton will be adding two new teams to its esports lineup for the Fall 2019 semester.

Esports Coordinator Charles Murray said the college received significant student interest for developing squads in "Rocket League" by Psyonix and "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege" by Ubisoft.

"Rocket League is a wildly popular soccer-style game played with rocket-powered cars," Murray said. "Rainbow Six Siege is a more tactical first-person shooter video game that relies heavily on teamwork and solid communication. Both games are tremendously fun."

Students will play Rocket League as part of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) which has more than 50 member schools. The Rainbow Six Siege team will play in the Collegiate R6 conference.

SUNY Canton esports launched in Spring 2018 with approximately 17 students actively playing in three games: "Overwatch" and "Hearthstone" by Blizzard; and "League of Legends" by Riot Games. The following semester, esports adopted "Fortnite" by Epic Games and "FIFA" by EA Games. In Spring 2019, the program added "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" by Nintendo.

Approximately 50 students participated in esports last semester.

"We're anticipating about 100 new gamers in Fall 2019," Murray said. "We will be expanding team sections to accommodate the influx of students."

Game Design and Development continues to grow alongside of eSports and has become the fastest growing major at the college. In 2018, 78 full-time students enrolled in the program. This year, approximately 114 new students began classes.

"SUNY Canton has established itself as a leader in esports," said Director of Athletics Randy B. Sieminski. "In addition to adding new games, our next steps will include adding more all-women's teams, and creating new academic programs to prepare students for the competitive video gaming industry."

Open tryouts for students will be held at the beginning next week. Online students should contact Murray at murrayc@canton.edufor participation information.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in digital design, engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. As SUNY's leader in online education, SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 18 online degree programs. The college placed first in 14 categories in a SUNY-Wide Student Opinion Survey, most notably in career services, tutoring, library resources, and classroom facilities. The college's 15 traditional athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level as part of the North Atlantic Conference. SUNY Canton also offers varsity esports and cheerleading. For more information, visit www.canton.edu.

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