Boston, Ma. - Fisher College will introduce members of its new collegiate varsity esports team at a news conference on Thursday September 15, 2022 at 11 am at 116 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts.
Fisher College is the first college in Boston to elevate esports to the highest competitive collegiate varsity level to compete against other schools through NECC (National Esports Collegiate Conference), ECAC (East Coast Athletic Conference) and various other competitions. There are over 700 colleges & universities and more than 40,000 student athletes competing between all leagues and conferences.
Fisher College will field the top competitive teams in League of Legends, Fortnite, Overwatch, Rocket League, Halo, Call of Duty, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Valorant, Hearthstone, Rainbow Six Siege and more.
“We are fielding one of the most competitive esports teams in the country,” said Bryan Hummel, Director of Esports at Fisher College. “Like any other sport, our players spend hours practicing each week under myself and Assistant Director Aaron Colaiacomo. We also bolster a support staff of over ten individuals solely dedicated to the esports program as coaches, managers, and production assistants. We look forward to competing against other varsity programs across North America.”
“Esports is exploding right now and Fisher College is making a major investment in this type of innovative and cutting edge competition,” said Steve Rich, President of Fisher College. “The esports industry has created a demand for business professionals with a solid understanding of the industry’s nuances, which is why we have also developed an esports and Gaming Administration Concentration for interested students to learn and gain experience in the ever expanding gaming industry.”
Fisher College’s Esports Varsity roster includes:
● Justin “SiLLY,” Fargo-Palmer, a business major from Texas and former Call of Duty world champion while playing on Evil Geniuses earning over $350,000 in prize money across his career.
● Carlos “Sonix,” Perez, a management major from the Dominican Republic and current top ten-offline player in the world and the number one-online player having recently won CEO 2022 in Florida.
● Gianluca “Sosa,” Petrozza, a business major from Italy who recently played for the Pittsburgh Knights and placed 9th in the last RLCS, a professional level major.
● Carter “Neb,” Ennis, an IT and Software Engineering major from Arkansas recently placing 2nd in the Overwatch Contenders series, 1st in the Boston Uprising Collegiate Cup and captain of Fisher College’s Overwatch team.
● Yongmin “Dragonminkim,” Kim, an IT and Software Engineering major from Korea recently finishing 2nd in the College League of Legends National Championship. He also played for Furious Gaming and Cloud 9 Academy, two professional esports organizations.
● Jordan “Crimz,” Herzog, a business major having over sixty top 100 finishes earning over $100,000 across his career.
● Paul “PaulieHype,” Santoro, a business major from New York previously competing as a professional in Gears of War boasting several top ten placements across his career. Paul is also a partnered Twitch Streamer and professional caster for a multitude of leagues and organizations covering a variety of game genres. He will be playing on the Halo team this Fall.
● Samantha “Yali,” McBride, is a management major from Colorado who will be coaching the Rainbow Six team this Fall. She has an extensive background in the minor leagues, also known as the tier 2 scene, finishing 9th in the last open qualifier.
● Jadin “Menace,” Wagner, is an IT and Cybersecurity major having placed in the top ten four times in VCT qualifiers and played on professional teams such as Noble and Phoneix1.
Students in the Bachelor of Science in Sport Management (BSM), Esports and Gaming Administration Concentration at Fisher College will gain knowledge within the general sport industries along withthe following concentration-specific learning objectives: identify strategies for how technology-based companies accomplish their goals, detail the role of the publisher and explore the complexities involved in promoting games and bringing them to market, critically analyze and evaluate games as well as their themes, mechanics, and other components, apply principles of marketing, sales and distribution to the specific conditions of the games industry, and understand the history and cultural significance of games and esports.
Director of Esports Bryan Hummel comes formerly from Bay State College as their Director of Esports. Under Bryan’s direction his teams put on exceptional performances, placing 2nd in the nation in League of Legends, 1st in the nation in Fortnite, 1st in the nation in Super Smash Brothers, 1st in the east conference in Rocket League with a 2nd place finish in the national championship, 2nd place in the Call of Duty national championship, 3/4th place in the Overwatch Fall national championship, and second place in the Hearthstone national championship this past year. Bryan is also an adjunct professor in the sports communication department for esports minors at Emerson College, as well as a consultant for various college esports programs. Bryan created the first fully online competitive esports program in the nation at Colorado State University Global.
Aaron Colaiacomo will serve as Fisher College’s Assistant Director of Esports. Aaron Colaiacomo comes to us from Bay State College previously as their Assistant Director of Esports. Aaron's previous experiences in collegiate esports stem from Providence College, where he founded their program and was able to receive outside funding to build a state-of-the-art esports facility. Aaron then moved on to be the Coordinator of Esports for Johnson and Wales University leading the program to multiple top 10 finishes in several conferences. Aaron has an extensive background in starting collegiate esports programs where he has advised over 20 new programs. Under Aaron’s direction as the head coach for Super Smash brothers at Bay State, he led his team to a first-place finish in the 2022 national championship.
About Fisher College
For more than a century, Fisher has been changing lives by providing students with the tools they need to compete successfully in today's challenging economy. Though built around the liberal arts, our on campus and online programs reflect our expertise in practical fields like accounting, biology, criminal justice, cybersecurity, information technology, and management, to name a few. We believe in educating students through close intellectual engagement with our faculty, meeting together in small-group classroom settings, or with industry and business leaders through internships, guest lectures, and site visits. We take full advantage of the educational resources of Boston, a city both rich in history and culture, and a center of intellectual ferment, entrepreneurship, and scientific advancement. For more information, please visit www.fisher.edu