Camden County College officially opened the Cougar Esports Arena at the Williams G. Rohrer Center in Cherry Hill on January 27.
The 1600 square foot state-of-the-art Cougar Esports Arena was constructed to host in-person intercollegiate esports league activities and academic programming. There are currently 12 Cougar Esports teams: Valorant, Rocket League, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Super Smash Brothers, Madden Football, Apex, Hearthstone, Call of Duty: Warzone, NBA 2K23, Overwatch 2 & Rainbow Six: Siege, competing in 2 intercollegiate leagues (NACE and NJCAAe) supporting over 50 student-athletes and broadcasters.
Camden County College’s new Cougar Esports program gives College and local community members the opportunity to play video games competitively while providing dedicated career pathways in esports-related fields. The popularity of professional esports is now surging, and today millions of followers are watching esports events on live, streaming platforms. Cougar Esports is excited to support these efforts and help prepare our students for the esports jobs of tomorrow, today.
The College will offer an Esports Production Associate of Applied Science degree int the Fall 2023 Semester. Camden County College will be the first in the region to offer a 2-year Esports Production degree. This degree was designed with Horizon AVL Esports Integration, a Blackwood-based company that has worked with over 100 institutions nationwide for esports integration. Program goals include preparing students for careers in the esports industry, developing production skills in esports, understanding the business of the esports industry, and discussing social in esports. The degree will prepare students for career opportunities in esports event planning, networking, cybersecurity, video, and audio production.
The Cougar Esports teams have competed against several 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities. Notable matches so far have included – Cornell, Marquette, U. of Miami, West Virginia, DePaul, Drexel, Iowa State, Florida State, Randolph-Macon, U. of Cincinnati, Rochester Institute of Technology. Playoff appearances over the past year have included Smash, NBA2K, CS:GO, COD, Rocket League & Valorant. A variety of matches and events are streamed live weekly via Twitch.
Upcoming events at the Cougar Esports Arena include the annual Camden County Cougar Esports High School Invitational, and a variety of esports camps and boot camp opportunities this summer. The arena will host monthly open houses for the public to tour the space and to learn more esports.
Left to right – Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Shin Angulo, Commissioner Melinda Kane, Commissioner Al Dyer, President Lovell Pugh-Bassett, Congressman Donald Norcross, Vice President David Edwards, Board of Trustees Member Jessica Stewart, Assemblyman Bill Moen, Board of Trustees Member Anthony Maressa
