FSU Panama City esports team wins Peach Belt Conference ‘League’ championship
For the first time since the school began competing in the Peach Belt Conference two years ago, Florida State University Panama City’s esports team captured the League of Legends Champions Division title in Saturday’s PBC playoffs.
The FSU Panama City esports team poses with their trophy for taking the
Champions Division title in Saturday’s Peach Belt Conference “League of Legends”
competition. [PBC Photo].
According to a release from the conference, FSU Panama City won the first athletic competition championship in school history, defeating Centre College 3-0 in the final. Both FSU PC and Centre were making their PBC championship debuts. Kennesaw State University hosted the event on its Marietta campus.
FSU PC’s team includes students Timothy Peagler, Steven Niemiec, Antonne Williams, Paul Myers and Christian Ivers, led by Director Katie Dier.
Cross-Collegiate Esports is the first varsity team in FSU PC history, and in January 2023 the team was admitted to the NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference as an associate member. Open to any full-time students in good standing, the team is university-funded and provides mentorship, the opportunity to travel and the potential to win monetary prizes.
The PBC was the first NCAA conference to hold an esports championship starting with the 2017-2018 academic year. The league was also the first to partner with Riot Games, publisher of League of Legends, the most-played online game in the world, and the first to hold an in-person live conference championship.
Esports has become a large and popular competitive sports category with dozens of multiplayer games eligible for championship leagues. For more information, visit PC.FSU.edu/esports.