HBCU Students Compete as Madden 22 Tournament Finalists and Interns at Super Bowl LVI
Esports is a very lucrative business and is giving educational opportunities for many HBCU students. The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) has been "implementing a conference-wide Esports platform starting in September 2020." The NFL is using esports to connect with students, athletes, and business professionals through the 2nd annual Madden NFL 22 x HBCU Tournament.
The National Football League unveiled its strategy for the top HBCU student finalists who participated in the 2nd annual Madden NFL 22 x HBCU Tournament with a once-in-a-lifetime experience during Super Bowl LVI week.
15 students from HBCU schools in the SWAC, MEAC, and CIAA will journey to Los Angeles for a week filled with job shadowing opportunities and events with the NFL as well as the finals competition of the Madden NFL 22 x HBCU tournament.
Madden NFL 22 HBCU Top Student Finalists
| Name | Madden Gamer Tag | HBCU School |
|---|---|---|
Andre Kenyoda Patterson Jr | Slattlyfree | Albany State |
Javion D Jackson | Javion142 | Albany State |
Eric Demetrius Minor Jr. | ThatGuyDj | Claffin University |
Christopher Webb | Sbc_gaming_1of1 | Delaware State |
Donavan Burrell | Tissue20 | Florida A&M |
Tykevious Dequante Ivory | Equipedbulldog2 | Fort Valley State |
Donald Ray White III | DonTnp4L | Grambling State |
Malik Seay | kreamyshots | Howard |
Malay Robinson Jr | JoseHndrx | Morgan State |
Nicholas Harris | BlackTrident4H | Norfolk State |
DaSean Wade Neclos Jr | ThaRealSuave | N.C. A&T |
Quran Rubin Coy Watts | callingwolves_ | N.C. A&T |
Christopher James Pitts | Sametarsier8657 | St. Augustine |
Carlik Humes | Freakylikky | VA Union |
Rodney Jimmel McKay Jr | RockoTuff | VA Union |
To conclude the week, each student finalist will receive a ticket to attend Super Bowl LVI, on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium. The Madden NFL 22 x HBCU Tournament is driven by the NFL's commitment to inclusivity and accessibility in both traditional sports and esports.
Throughout the week, the NFL Football Development team will host the student finalists inviting them to learn the business side of football at a variety of events and activations, including the Play Football Stakeholders Breakfast, the High School Girls NFL FLAG Exhibition, the Play Football Family Festival, and Super Bowl Experience. Students will receive valuable career advice from NFL executives and key stakeholders while also participating in immersive job training.
THE TOP TWO FINALISTS
As a lead up to the finals competition, Eric "ThatGuyDJ" Minor from Claflin University and Rodney "RockoTuff" McKay from Virginia Union University will appear on NFL Total Access during the program's Feb. 8 broadcast at 7:00 PM ET on NFL Network to talk about their experience in the tournament.
Fans are encouraged to tune in on Feb. 12 at 3:00 PM ET on the NFL YouTube or Twitch channels to find out if Eric "ThatGuyDJ" Minor or Rodney "RockoTuff" McKay will take home the Madden NFL 22 x HBCU title. Eric and Rodney will be competing for the Championship title from the NFL's west coast headquarters located next to SoFi Stadium in Hollywood Park, home of Super Bowl LVI.
This year's tournament features NFL partner prizing including Microsoft Surface Pro X tablets, in addition to other official League product.
The NFL partnered with GCN (Gaming Community Network), a GameSquare Esports company that manages the online qualifiers, including registration and online tournament execution, player communications, competitive integrity, and the professional broadcast on February 12.
About the NFL HBCU Initiative
In May 2016, the NFL launched Strength of HBCUs, Impacting Pro Football Since 1948 in partnership with two prominent HBCU athletic conferences — the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The initiative has since expanded to also include other conferences and schools to recognize and strengthen its relationships with HBCUs across the country. Through these relationships, the NFL has developed several HBCU-focused programs to educate and connect students to careers in football administration and the sports industry at large.
About Gaming Community Network
GCN, Inc. (Gaming Community Network) is the only independent media group completely dedicated to gaming and esports across community sites, content producers, influencers and tournament/event operators. Bridging the gap between traditional media and gaming with a "Gamer First" promise, GCN's aggregated & integrated proprietary media network reaches 65M+ MAU's in the US (115M+ MAUs globally) driving scale for premium content designed to provoke and share conversations. GCN builds bespoke strategy solutions from content creation to full-scale tournaments for any endpoint be it social, broadcast TV or live stream. As a GameSquare Esports Inc. (stock: GSQ, Canadian Stock Exchange) subsidiary, GCN collaborates with its partners to deliver memorable experiences for gamers and brands. To learn more, visit GCN.gg or follow on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/GamingCommunityNetwork/
About GameSquare Esports Inc.
GameSquare Esports Inc. is an international gaming and esports company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Company is seeking to acquire additional assets and entities serving the gaming and esports markets and, more broadly, in sports and entertainment. GameSquare owns a portfolio of companies including Code Red Esports Ltd., an esports talent agency serving the UK, Reciprocity Corp. ("Reciprocity"), which provides the Company access to Asia, Latin America and North America, NextGen Tech, LLC (dba as Complexity Gaming), a leading esports organization operating in the United States, and, most recently, Swingman LLC (dba Cut+Sew and Zoned), a gaming and lifestyle marketing agency based in Los Angeles, USA. Reciprocity's gaming and esports assets include: a CrossFire franchise in China that it owns with its partner LGD Gaming, a 40% interest in a League of Legends team that competes in Latin America, and its wholly owned subsidiary corporation, GCN, a digital media company focusing on the gaming and esports audience based in Los Angeles, USA.