Catawba College announces Esports scholarship partnership

SALISBURY, N.C. (WBTV) - Press release: Stay Plugged IN (SPIN) has announced a college esports scholarship partnership with Catawba College. SPIN and Catawba College are bringing opportunities to students across theSoutheast to pursue their dreams and compete at the next level.

These esports athletes will be able to attend college on a scholarship to further their education and work towards future careers. Any student that meets the following criteria will be granted a $2,000 minimum scholarship to Catawba College:

● Create an eSPIN.gg account

● Compete in a SPIN event

○ Recruitment LAN

○ Online Showcase

○ Carry 2 College Tournament Series

● Apply to Catawba College, be accepted, and attend/play esports for the college

“I am pleased and excited for this partnership between Catawba College and SPIN.” Gidd Sasser, the Esports Director at Catawba Esports said about the scholarship partnership. “This is a great opportunity to further push the growth of esports in academia and to better support esports athletes with additional scholarship opportunities, varsity competition, successful degree completion, and job placement.”

“Our partnership with Catawba College is bridging the gap between high school and college esports,” said Alex Cummings, Director of Marketing at SPIN, “This opportunity provides local Charlotte, NC esports athletes an opportunity to play collegiate esports for a hometown college while earning a valuable degree for career development.”

Catawba College is a private school located in Salisbury, North Carolina. Founded in 1851, the college sits on a 276 acre campus in a suburban area. The student enrollment for undergraduate is 1,300, placing the college in a small college with a 12:1 student to teacher ratio. The athletics department at Catawba College offers many different traditional sports and the college itself is in Division II for their program. Academics is a large focus of the college and there are over 70 majors and minors including multiple technology-based majors such as Information Systems and Technology and Computer Science.

Catawba Esports nurtures player development through a professionally structured program that preaches player performance and personal growth. In addition to the passionate staff, Catawba Esports provides players with two esports arenas fully equipped to provide the best environment for the students. The Catawba College esports arenas are located in the Cannon Student Center, the hub of student activities. These spaces feature two state-of-the-art facilities including gaming desks, peripherals, and PCs. The Student Center includes a game day viewing area with a video wall accessible to all on campus, as well as a community-focused game lounge that includes both retro and modern game options for play.

Catawba Esports is an extremely active and broad program with opportunities for students to compete across tons of different esports titles under college esports scholarships. The conference that they are competing within is ECAC Esports. Catawba Esports offers college esports scholarships for all ECAC titles as well as bonus scholarships for Varsity and Club members. The esports program at Catawba is extremely competitive across all titles and has impressive performances each season. In the Fall 2020 season within ECAC, Catawba Esports had an impressive resume across many different titles.

Catawba Esports Performance

Fall 2020

● Valorant

○ 2020 ECAC Conference Champions

● Overwatch

○ Qualified for LAN

○ HV Gamercon

● League of Legends

○ Undefeated Spring

● Rocket League

○ Playoffs, Qualified for LAN

○ HV Gamercon

● Yugioh

○ Launched TCG Rewind

● Fortnite

○ Multiple top 3 solo finishes across weeklies

Spring 2021

● Valorant

○ Playoffs bound

● League of Legends

○ Currently 8-0 in ECAC Spring League

● Rocket League

○ Playoffs bound

SPIN is the Premier Esports Recruiting Platform for College Scholarships by forging a pathway to guide students towards further education and future careers. SPIN offers opportunities for esports athletes to compete in their respective titles in front of a network of college and university esports programs from across North America. SPIN is dedicated to helping students improve their in-game skills and become the best player they can be, all with their health and wellness in mind. Students are taught about healthy eating habits, how to be active while also gaming, and the importance of overall health in wellness in the pursuit of honing esports skills.

SPIN not only focuses on the in-game skills and abilities of players, but also their overall character, esports industry skills, and overall recruitability. All SPIN students are given the chance to better themselves within the esports ecosystem by learning skills such as graphic design, video editing, casting, and event management. On top of the esports industry skills, SPIN focuses on providing an environment to learn about leadership, time management, communication, and many more lifelong skills.