Albany, NY — Russell Sage College's Department of Athletics has announced the selection of Luke Martin (Wyoming, MI/Wyoming) as the head coach for the eSports program. Martin, a 2021 graduate of Central Michigan University, joins the Gator staff after serving as a player and president of the Central Michigan eSports program.
Martin commented about his selection, "I've always had a passion for gaming and the world of eSports." He added, "I'm very excited and thankful for the opportunity at Russell Sage to share my passion and help create a program that encourages teamwork and a competitive drive to succeed."
A founding member of the program, he served as the President of the club and helped to the eSports program that included around 150 students. The program supported teams in League of Legends, Overwatch, CS: GO, Rocket League and Rainbow Six Siege.
Russell Sage College, an NCAA Division III institution, will compete as a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and will commence varsity competition during the 2021-2022 academic year.
"I am delighted to announce that Luke Martin will be leading our eSports teams this fall as we begin competing in NACE this fall" commented Director of Athletics Sandy Augstein-Collins at the time of his appointment. She added "I'm looking forward to watching the development of our eSports program with Luke's guidance. It's an exciting time for the Gators this fall as we begin competing in two of our three new sports this fall!," commented Director of Athletics Sandy Augstein-Collins.
While at CMU, Martin served as the head student president of the eSports program, which was established in 2019. He helped to lay the groundwork for the program as it was accepted into the NACE program. He also acted as a liaison between the teams and players and the faculty to help create the necessary environment for our teams to succeed. Martin also planned and hosted three eSports tournament events that had close to 500 student participants.
As a player and captain of CMU's League of Legends team for three separate seasons, he guided the teams to a third place finish at the GG Leagues Invitational in Chicago in 2019. During this same timeframe, he was ranked among the Top 5% of players in North America. As a coach of the CMU League of Legends Gold and Maroon teams during two separate seasons, he coordinated practice and training sessions.
