#61 eSports Chat: Scott Huston + Victor Gomez - A Few Things - 52 Min

We discussed a number of things including: 1. State of eSports in high school and higher education 2. Future forecast for the sports tech industries 3. Talent pipeline outlook: opportunities and challenges Scott Huston, Chief Information Officer, at Stockton University, is responsible for providing leadership to the Division of Information Technology Services team for the continued development of an innovative, robust, and secure information technology environment to support ubiquitous, integrated, and fully engaging learning experiences throughout the University. He has also helped inspire the growth of Stockton’s top ranked esports program Under his leadership, the Information technology team has taken a proactive and collaborative approach to deliver innovative, reliable, and sustainable technologies that optimize satisfaction and desired outcomes. Scott Huston has continued to develop an extremely talented management team who collaboratively approach, solve, and guide the technical staff within the division to meet the University’s technology needs. While acting as Chief Information Officer, he has been extremely successful in continuing to implement the new strategic vision for Information Technology Services by focusing the adoption of software as a service offerings and cloud technologies to provide more robust and reliable IT infrastructure. His leadership has been a critical part of the University’s operations during the covid-19 pandemic providing technology, resources, and support to continue University operations during a difficult time. He has also been appointed as a member of the NJEdge Board of Trustees. ------ 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 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 (EGF). 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.