Chris Turner Nominated For Esports Award
The Esports Awards, which have been held annually since 2016, have been a globally recognized celebration of achievements in the online gaming community. Christopher Turner, the head coach and general manager of the Southern University Esports team, has been nominated for Collegiate Ambassador of the Year at this year’s awards, which will be held in Arlington, Texas on November 11, 2021. The acknowledgement comes after a three-year journey filled with unknown stress and struggle, but ultimately success.
Turner assisted Southern University Lab School in opening the first-ever E-Sports lab at any school in Louisiana prior to launching Southern’s program. The E-Sports program was accepted as an official Southern University student organization in September 2020, based on the pillars of career development, competition, community, health, and wellness. Creating an unprecedented pipeline that allows team members to improve their gaming skills from middle school to senior year of college.
Due to many students’ misunderstanding of the program or the level of effort required to be a member, initial efforts to field a team in 2020 did not go as planned. Noland Johnson, an award-winning Rocket League player and English major, was unaware of the Esports team until one of his friends informed him via email. He would go on to lead Southern’s Rocket League team to a second-place finish in the SWAC championships a few months later. “Being able to compete for my school, competing against other SWAC members, having streamers and commentators. He said that It was a fantastic introduction to the rest of the world and felt valued for a skill he’d been honing for a long time.
Sam Jefferson, a sophomore black history education major and Madden regional finalist, encouraged doubters to look beyond the stereotype when asked if members should be considered student-athletes. He drew parallels between the mental and physical aspects of video games, noting that they can burn calories.
100 student gamers are currently divided into competitive and casual teams, honing their skills in popular video games such as Rocket League, NBA 2K, EA Sports Madden NFL, and Call of Duty. The program’s long-term goals include providing scholarships to both in-state and out-of-state students and opening an on-campus Esports lab where players and students can play and watch. Vote for Coach Turner before the November 10 deadline at esportsawards.com/vote, and follow @SUBR Esports on Twitch and Twitter for the latest news, games, and updates from the program.