EGFC Announces the Second Slate of Administrators Elected to the Board Of Governors
February 7, 2022 ,
EGFC is incredibly proud to welcome the newest members of the League's Board of Governors!
Michael Cassens, Associate Professor and Director of Esports at University of Montana
James Hoplin, Esports Coordinator/Coach at Washington State University
Victor Gomez, Esports Manager at Seton Hall University
Joe Mazzara, Assistant Director of Esports at Wichita State University
These administrators were elected by their colleagues across EGFC and join the seven members of the Board that were elected last season and will serve a three year term.
"Working hand in hand with our colleges and universities is critical to making sure we as a company continue to grow alongside the needs of our teams" said Founder, Tyler Schrodt, "and our Board of Governors is one of the most important pieces to ensure we do that. We're so happy to be working with this incredible group of 11 administrators in building the future of our League."
The EGFC Board of Governors is an elected group of administrators from Division I colleges and universities across the country with formalized esports programs. The purpose of the Board is to work with EGF to develop policies and programs to serve all of our Institutions and their students. The current Board of 11 members come from a wide range of backgrounds and types of Institutions and have driven the development of programs like EGFC Lead, stronger analytics on League demographics, and governance system designed to empower our members.
With our new Board members we're looking forward to continuing our work as we complete the Spring split of EGFC Season 3.
More on the new members of the Board of Governors:
Michael Cassens, Associate Professor and Director of Esports at University of Montana
Michael is a teacher, collaborator, gamer, and mobile application developer. His current focus is on creating more meaningful experiences as an instructor, using gaming practices and theories to enhance course content, and building equitable games and applications for the marketplace using different games engines and mobile platforms. Michael is also the Director of eSports at the University of Montana, emphasizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and educational pathways for all players and team members. With over 250 players in the program, we host varsity/junior varsity teams in League of Legends, Overwatch, Fortnite, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, and Chess.
In addition, Michael is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Visual and Media Arts and most recently the Director of Access, Equity, and Inclusion in the College of Arts and Media. In addition to continuing his research, Michael teaches courses within the Game Design and Interactive Media concentration in the BFA program. These courses focus on preparing students to contribute to an evolving world using code and modern technology.
Victor Gomez, Esports Manager at Seton Hall University
Victor Gomez, Esports Manager at Seton Hall University, has been instrumental to the founding, creation, and growth of the University’s esports program.
An accomplished alumnus of Seton Hall, Victor he has been at the forefront of the university’s esports endeavors since 2013 – the same year that the United States officially recognized esports players as professional athletes. His expertise in the field has been integral to the program and its continued success. He has recently been appointed as the chair of the Impact committee for the Electronic Gaming Federation Collegiate (EGFC)."
In partnership with the University’s Department of Information Technology, Victor spearheaded Seton Hall's integration of esports into the strategic mission and the creation of a state-of-the-art esports lab, the base of operations for the University’s three teams: Rocket League, League of Legends, and Super Smash Brother’s Ultimate. The esports program has already claimed success as the first BIG EAST tournament champion in the 2018 ESL Rocket League Winter Invitational and the 2020 BIG EAST x ESL League of Legends Championship, 2020 Big East x MAAC Rocket League Challenge Champions, and most recently Ranking 5th in the East and top 10 in the nation in Collegiate Rocket League."
James Hoplin, Esports Coordinator/Coach at Washington State University
James is the Esports Coordinator and Head Coach for Washington State University. A competitive gamer since his first event in 1998, James has worked at Washington State University for 10 years working in a variety of student-facing roles.
These roles were primarily focused on managing student workers and working with incoming students as part of WSU Global Campus. In addition to serving on the EGFC Board of Governors, James also serves on the Board of Governors for the Southeastern Washington Football Officials Association and works closely with our ASWSUG student government.
Joe Mazzara, Assistant Director of Esports at Wichita State University
Joe is the Assistant Director of Esports at Wichita State University where he's been involved with esports on campus for the better part of 5 years and was one of the key people in the initial founding of the esports program. Joe was also COO of the Wichita Wolves and has been part of growing the entire city's esports footprint with both the Wolves and WSU.
As one of his efforts as Assistant Director, Joe has been working as part of the initiative to establish a curriculum of esports via the University's sports management department, which resulted in the creation of an Esports Management minor.
