The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) has teamed with sports marketing pioneer Dr. Marc Williams and Collegiate Starleague (CSL), the world’s first and largest collegiate esports organization, to develop a pipeline for students interested in the business side of esports.

Williams, CEO and founder of Williams Communications, LLC, and Neil Duffy, vice president of Collegiate Starleague, collaborated to develop an esports masterclass at UFCJC that resulted in an internship for six students at CSL next summer. This is the first time that CSL has offered internships to students.

Williams spent a week at the College as a Hearst Visiting Professional, teaching, meeting with students and faculty, and culminating in the masterclass.

During the masterclass, two teams of six students each competed for the internships by proposing marketing strategies for CSL.  The class and competition were streamed live on gaming platform Twitch.

Students awarded internships include: Alejandro D’Agostino, senior, Advertising major; Britney Jenkins, senior, Advertising major; Mitchell Nichols, junior, Sports Management major; Dillon Skelley, senior, Advertising major; Emily Stevenson, Senior, Advertising major; and Jaret White, junior, Advertising major. The students will be working in marketing, public relations, branding, content and production at CSL during the summer of 2019.

Judges for the competition included: UFCJC senior journalism major Christopher Cantrell, who was selected as the eighth overall pick by the Orlando Magic’s gaming team in last year’s NBA 2K inaugural draft; sports marketing lecturer at University of Houston and founder of LVRG Sports Ashley Dewalt; Dr. Sandra Doman, spine specialist and owner of Miami Sports Chiropractic & Yoga Center, who also lectured on how to improve posture and brain health in the gaming industry; Serena Lamar, director of operations for UF women’s basketball; Analee Rodriguez, a market specialist at UF who previously helped develop marketing campaigns for the National Basketball Association, The Walt Disney Company, ESPN other notable firms; and integrated marketing and music industry executive Charles Whitfield, who co-founded Hidden Beach Recordings, a leading independent recording label.

“The whole world of esports has really taken off, which means that there are—and will be—many opportunities for our students in so many different areas of media and communications,” said UFCJC Journalsim Department Chair Ted Spiker. “For the students in the masterclass, it gave them a great chance to take a dive into this world.”

Posted: October 1, 2018
Category: College News, Student News
Tagged as: Collegiate Starleague, esports internships, Williams Communications