BEYOND GAMING
The mission of the Shenandoah University Esports program is to go beyond gaming and provide students with an opportunity to develop academically, competitively, and professionally in order to become innovators and leaders in the esports ecosystem.
Our vision is to set the standard for professionalism in the esports ecosystem.
We’re proud to say we received the program, director, and educator of the year honors at the 2025 Scholastic Esports Awards and the 2025 National Association of Collegiate Esports‘ student leadership, educator of the year, outstanding event of the year, and broadcast talent of the year awards.
WHY ESPORTS?
It’s a field exploding with opportunity.
The worldwide esports audience is massive, at over 640 million, and over 240 million active monthly users are on Twitch. Discord has over 614 million registered accounts and is valued at $15 billion.
Major esports competitions are multifaceted endeavors with worldwide audiences and multimillion-dollar prize pools.
Esports success isn’t limited to players, however. An esports product manager can earn an average yearly salary of $105,434, according to Indeed.com, while an esports event manager’s average salary is $57,964.
SHENANDOAH ESPORTS TEAM
Shenandoah’s esports team competes through the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC), with over 40 varsity team members playing eight esports titles against players at colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada. The team’s on-campus home is in the Esports Arena adjacent to Hazel-Pruitt Armory and has a private varsity practice space in Halpin-Harrison Hall. Shenandoah has one of the first esports arenas on the East Coast and the first collegiate, spectator esports arena in Virginia! The competitive team and students in the degree programs work hand-in-hand, allowing both groups to have the best esport experience possible, which will help them in college and long after.
Connect With Us
SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY ESPORTS
As one of the nation’s top esports programs, Shenandoah Esports merges academic study with gameplay, travel abroad, hands-on event management experience, and so much more.
Shenandoah Esports varsity teams compete against teams from around the country as a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports.
A GROWING ESPORTS WORKFORCE
Esports, as an industry, is growing more prominent and engaging, and is filled with careers connected to a wide variety of fields. It’s perfect for anyone interested in event and/or sport management, software engineering, art and graphic design, music, content creation, communications, gameplay, coaching, sales, exercise science, digital marketing, journalism, public relations, and broadcasting.
Check out Indeed.com’s list of 21 jobs in the field to learn more about what you can do in the industry!
Esports is probably the biggest sport in the world that the mainstream doesn’t know about. There’s 3.4 billion people playing video games and we have 700 million esports fans. I remember playing esports tournaments in London back in 1998/1999. It was the place to be but [the industry] was very small then. With the internet and later mobile phones becoming ubiquitous, video games became the most normal thing for a young person to play with. Then in the mid 2010s, esports tournaments began to fill stadiums. That was the time where everything changed. Now, there’s almost no one below the age of 35 who isn’t playing games.
Ralf Reichert | Esports World Cup CEO
(quote from Forbes.com)
We’re ready to pick up the controller and play.
Are You?
ESPORTS NEWS
Shenandoah University To Host VHSL’s First Fully Sanctioned Esports State Championships
Shenandoah Esports partnering with VHSL, PlayVS to plan and produce event on Dec. 13
Shenandoah Announces Partnership With Gen.G Esports
Partnership Will Create New Educational, Professional and Development Opportunities For SU Students
Shenandoah Esports Earns 4 National Awards At Annual NACE Convention
SU wins Student Leadership Award, Educator of the Year, Outstanding Event of the Year, and Broadcast Talent of the Year
ESPORTS PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Alyssa Duran
Alyssa studied at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA, where she was involved with the university’s varsity esports program. Her experience as an esports competitor and coach led her to her former position at Shenandoah University as Coordinator of Esports Competition. Now, Alyssa leads the program as the Esports Director and assists with teaching various esports courses.
Additionally, Alyssa sits on the Competition Council as Chair-Elect for the National Association of Collegiate Esports. She has been recognized for her work as an advocate for collegiate esports through multiple awards, including NACE Esports Awards – Emerging Director of the Year (2023-2024) and 2025 Scholastic Esports Awards – Director of the Year. She has also received the NAIA Champions of Character (2021) and Outstanding Leader of the Year (2020) awards.
ESPORTS LECTURER
Zander Merle-Smith
Zander Merle-Smith received his Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Tech and an MBA with a focus in Esports Management from Shenandoah University. He has plans to continue his education with an EdD in the future.
His previous experience as a broadcast production lead, esports commentator, and event operations specialist has given him the background knowledge to prepare the next generation for the esports industry. Merle-Smith has also performed as on-camera talent for high school, collegiate, and professional esports events.
His contributions to esports education were recognized with the 2025 Scholastic Esports Awards – Educator of the Year.
ESPORTS LECTURER
Chase Neukam
Chase Neukam is a grassroots-oriented esports professional who received his undergraduate degree in Business Management at Ball State University and Masters in Organizational Leadership at St. Ambrose University. He has worked in collegiate esports roles including serving as St. Ambrose University and St. Cloud State’s Director of Esports. In addition to his collegiate work experience, Chase has volunteered his service as an elected and appointed official in various esports organizations including the National Association of Collegiate Esports, the National Esports Collegiate Conference, the Iowa High School Esports Association, the Indiana Esports Network, the Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup, and the National Association of Esports Coaches and Directors.
Chase is a proud Midwesterner with a rhetorical focus on application of classroom topics in experiential learning environments.
COORDINATOR OF ESPORTS PRODUCTION
Fernando Preciado-Leal
Fernando’s experience playing on professional teams, collegiate teams, and coaching at multiple universities prepares him well for the position of Coordinator of Competition. As the Coordinator of Esports Competition he oversees the competitive esports teams and the development of the coaches for the varsity program. His background in private security tactics help him elevate student communication and in-game decision making.
COORDINATOR OF ESPORTS PRODUCTION
Ian Burnett
Current student in the esports program studying Esports Management as well as Esports Media and Communications, graduating May 2024. Competed for Shenandoah’s Rocket League, Call of Duty, Valorant, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive teams between Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. Currently one of the coaches of the Rocket League team. Served as an SEP under the esports program since 2022 focusing on Broadcast Production and Content Creation initiatives. Accepted the role of Student Esports Production Coordinator in January 2024.
