Ohio Northern Esports teams to join Great Lakes Esports Conference; Will open inaugural season on Sept. 21

By Tim Glon

| 2019 Fall Esports Schedule |

ADA — Ohio Northern University has joined the Great Lakes Esports Conference which will be starting its inaugural season in the Fall of 2019.

Ohio Northern joins nine other local schools in the conference: Aquinas (Mich.), Lourdes, Mount Union, Mount Vernon Nazarene, Muskingum, Northwood (Mich.), Tiffin, Trine (Ind.), and Marietta.

The Polar Bears will be playing League of Legends and Overwatch in the conference.

ONU's head esports Coach Troy Chiefari is excited to compete and to have a local conference to be a part of for Ohio Northern's first esports season.

"It's nice to have a local conference to join to help a lot of these new esports student athletes acclimate themselves to competing in something they haven't had the chance to do underneath their school colors," Chiefari said. "The GLEC also offers the first chance to start local rivalries and bonds between nearby schools. The biggest benefit to joining this conference is being able to easily schedule matches and hosting live events to watch them."

The first matches for the GLEC begin with a battle against Muskingum at 11 am on September 21.

ONU will compete each Saturday at 11 am through Nov. 16 under the round-robin schedule format.

Ohio Northern offers scholarships for League of Legends and Overwatch players starting in the Fall '19. More games will be added for the 2020 academic year.