DePaul University, Niagara University, And St. John’s University Expand Their Esports Engagement With First-Ever Vincentian Esports Cup

Nov 24

Electronic Gaming Federation To Stage and Manage New Event Linking Three Elite Universities tied through Academic and Athletic Tradition

New York, November 24, 2020- The Electronic Gaming Federation, the national governing body for formalized collegiate D-I esports and high school level leagues, today announced that three of their partner schools, St. John’s University, DePaul University, and Niagara University will expand their esports engagement with The “Vincentian Cup,” an annual esports event for the three Vincentian Universities in the United States that play Division I athletics. The inaugural tournament will be held December 9th to December 12th featuring competition in multiple esports, including SSBU, Rocket League, and Overwatch.

Produced by the Electronic Gaming Federation, the Vincentian Cup is a multi-day round robin tournament across four titles with the grand finals for each title being held on December 12th beginning at noon Eastern Time. The tournament is “Olympic-style” with each University’s teams earning points to crown and eventual Vincentian Champion.

You can watch the tournament starting at 3:30PM ET on December 9th, 10th, and 11th and the finals on December 12th beginning at noon ET on EGF’s Twitch http://twitch.tv/officialEGF.

“Our goal with member schools is to link the traditional ties to forwarding thinking and meaningful engagement, and we think the Vincentian Cup is a great example of that,” said Tyler Schrodt Founder of the Electronic Gaming Federation. “There is a natural bond that exists between these like-minded universities, and creating an esports competition is another way to link generations and drive conversation and awareness, as well as some fun events for a new generation of engaged students.”

“As the three Vincentian universities in the United States, the Vincentian Cup offers us a unique opportunity to come together through gaming” said Courtney James, Director, Office of Student Involvement at DePaul University. “While our universities were founded over 120 years ago, it’s a great opportunity for us to be able to connect via Esports through our shared Vincentian identity in 2021.”

“We are excited for this opportunity with the EGF to partner with our fellow Vincentian universities at DePaul and St. John’s for this friendly competition and more importantly to be able to team up to raise funds for own students in need during this time,” added Bill Newton, Assistant Director of Campus Activities at Niagara University.

“The spirit of St. Vincent DePaul is core to St. John’s mission. The work of Depaul USA’s Dax Program: New York directly reflects this spirit of service with its mission to address housing insecurity. Esports transcends race, class, gender or creed as we all come together, and compete to support of the success of our students, and goal of creating equal opportunities for all students,” said Eric Alvarado, Executive Director, Enterprise Architecture & Strategy Information Technology at St. John's University

Connected by their Vincentian missions, these universities are inspired by St. Vincent's zeal for service and compassion for others. Through their participation in the Vincentian Cup, Esports competitors at these universities will come together to honor St. Vincent's legacy by raising funds for their respective student emergency assistance funds to help their peers during the pandemic. The funds raised will be distributed to each Institution’s respective student relief fund to assist students in their times of need. You can read more about the cause here: https://inspire.depaul.edu/project/23372.

ABOUT EGF

Founded in 2015, EGF is the national governing body for formalized collegiate D-I esports and high school level leagues. EGF’s youth, high school and D-I collegiate leagues are inspired by the best aspects of traditional sports to create opportunities for students and schools to engage and advance. For more information or to inquire about collegiate participation, please visit EGF.gg , follow @officialEGF on Twitter, Instagram and Twitch and Facebook or contact info@EGF.gg.

ABOUT DEPAUL UNIVERSITY:

DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the U.S. with more than 22,000 students and 300+ academic and professional programs. Established in Chicago in 1898, DePaul continues to strengthen what makes it unique: respected academics, real-world knowledge, and a commitment to social responsibility, all informed by the place it calls home — the multicultural city of Chicago. The university’s distinctive mission establishes a strong foundation of inclusive liberal-arts education, religious pluralism, and social justice — responsibilities that endure in the life of the university today. More at www.depaul.edu.

ABOUT NIAGARA UNIVERSITY:

For more than 150 years. Niagara University has been educating students in the Catholic and Vincentian tradition. This tradition emphasizes ethics, lifelong learning, and service to others and prepares our graduates for lives and careers that are both successful and fulfilling. Specifically the Niagara Esports program was established in October 2018 and opened it’s dedicated state-of-the art lounge in January 2020. Find out more about Niagara Esports at www.niagara.edu/esports.

ABOUT ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY:

St. John’s University is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic University founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians), with its main campus located in Queens, NY. St. John’s University also has campuses and locations in Staten Island and Manhattan, and in Hauppauge, NY; in Rome, Italy; in Paris, France; and in Limerick, Ireland. St. John’s University is comprised of six colleges, including the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business, The School of Education, and the School of Law. As of Fall 2020, the University has 1,400 full-time and part-time faculty, 15,693 undergraduate students, and 4,450 graduate students who come from 45 states and 121 countries. During the 2019–20 academic year, 98 percent of undergraduate and graduate students received $417 million in financial aid with $303 million coming directly from the University. St. John's offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, including 14 doctoral programs.