The Ashland University Esports organization adds two new teams to its varsity lineup, Call of Duty and Rocket League.

The two new teams will be competing in the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) according to esports head coach Alec Mueller.

“Both Rocket League and Call of Duty are immensely popular games and it was only a matter of time before we added them to our program,” said Mueller.

Member of the Rocket League team Mason Foley explained that the game is soccer but with cars.

“Having a rocket league team changes the esports team here at AU by adding in one of the most competitive, if not the most competitive and streamed esports worldwide” said Foley.

Rocket League served as a club team up until the 2022-2023 academic year before becoming a varsity team.

Now as the team has expanded Foley has formed a bond and many friendships with his six other members.

“The rocket league team is more than just a video game that we all play,” said Foley. “It introduced me to new friends, and also is a place where I can go to relax, and chill with everyone else on the team, stress-free.”

For the Call of Duty team, they have started competing.

“The competitions are regular season matches every Wednesday at 7 pm. This will also expand into a playoff bracket towards the season,” said Call of Duty team member Connor Milne. “We will also have scrimmages against other teams as a form of practice for these matches.”

Since adding the two new teams the schedule for the esports team is looking much more packed.

“With more teams means more practice and competition days so our schedule looks a lot tighter than years past but with the help of our new graduate assistant, Caleb Crowley, it has been manageable,” said Mueller. 

With the new teams, there is more hope that more students try out and join the variety of esports teams.

“I hope it does inspire more people to join our esports program,” said Mueller. “We are open to players of all skill levels as we have teams that compete in varsity and teams that compete in for-fun open divisions.