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 Esports Breaks Fundraising Record For Children’s Hospital Charity
The Shenandoah University Esports Program Raised $4,000 For Gamers Outreach
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
ESPORTS PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Zander Merle-Smith
Zander Merle-Smith received his Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Tech and MBA with a focus in Esports Management from Shenandoah University.
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. Zander now leads the Shenandoah Esports program as Director of Esports after serving 4 years as esports faculty.
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 a Master’s 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, Chase is involved heavily in the grassroots esports community as an event organizer, commentator, stage manager, programming manager in events such as Honeypot, Dragonball Battle Hour, EVO, and Supernova. To add, Chase has volunteered his service as an elected and appointed official in various esports organizations including the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), 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 has been a finalist for national recognition throughout his career; however in 2025 Chase won various national awards including NACE Educator of the Year, NAECAD Outstanding Leader of the Year, and CECC Advocate of the Year. In 2026 Chase was nominated by his peers to serve on the NACE Board of Directors following six years of experience on the NACE Competition Council. Chase begins pursuing his PhD in Educational Leadership starting Fall 2026. Chase is a proud Midwesterner with a rhetorical focus on application of classroom topics in experiential learning environments.
COORDINATOR OF ESPORTS PRODUCTION
Ian Burnett
Ian received his Bachelor’s degree in Esports Management as well as Esports Media and Communications from Shenandoah University in May 2024. As a student, Ian competed for Shenandoah’s Rocket League, Call of Duty, Valorant, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive teams. Ian served as an SEP under the esports program since 2022 focusing on Broadcast Production and Content Creation initiatives.
INTERIM COORDINATOR OF ESPORTS COMPETITION
Carter Van Hecke
Carter Van Hecke is a graduate student at Shenandoah University’s School of Business, pursuing an MBA with a concentration in Esports Management.
Originally from Quincy, Illinois, Carter earned his Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from St. Ambrose University in 2025 before bringing his passion for sports business to Shenandoah, where he has had the opportunity to work on several notable events, including the VHSL Esports State Championship, RedLine Showcase at Richmond Raceway, and the McDonald’s Apple Blossom Gaming Festival while serving the program as a graduate assistant.
Carter is an emerging leader in the growing field of esports and an active, engaged member of the Shenandoah community. He enters this year as the Interim Coordinator of Esports Competition and is excited to get to work!