With support from Quinnipiac, the Rocket League team traveled to San Antonio, Texas to battle for the win at the NECC Project I Nationals on May 16. Held in conjunction with the FORGE High School Scholastic Esports Championship, the NECC championship was livestreamed to a huge national audience. John Somers, associate director of recreation, said the win is a historic first and a giant leap forward for the program.

“This was a really big step for our program on a national scale,” Somers said. “Since the esports team started in 2019, its seen tremendous support from the university. It’s awesome to see the growth of esports as a whole here at Quinnipiac.”

Decked out in blue and gold Bobcats esports gear, Rocket League team members Andrew Samatulski ’25, MS ’27; Anthony Martire ’26, MBA ’27; and Jacob Buckwald ’27 represented Quinnipiac in high-level play as one of three collegiate Rocket League teams vying for the national crown.

Buckwald, who is also president of Quinnipiac’s club esports team, is the newest member of the club’s three-person Rocket League team. He joined Samatulski and Martire a little over two years ago.

“Being able to wear that Quinnipiac jersey and lift the trophy was like the culmination of everything we’ve worked for these past two years,” said Buckwald. “Last year we qualified for this tournament, but it happened during the week of Andrew’s graduation, so we couldn’t go. This year was on a date that worked for us, and we knew that we were going to go in and win. We went in with a lot of confidence, because the mental game is just as important as the actual game itself.”

In round robin play, Quinnipiac handily defeated the University of Michigan (4-1) in the first match, then fell to Missouri State (3-4) in the second match, before entering the grand finals as the top seed against Missouri State.

“Entering the grand finals for that rematch, we had time to reflect on what we could improve on, what went wrong, and what they did well that we could counteract. We won that rematch four to nothing,” Buckwald said. “Listening back to the broadcast, they were expecting it to be a super close series, but I think we won it in a pretty convincing fashion.”

Buckwald founded his high school’s esports club team and has been playing Rocket League since 2017. He began competing in Rocket League during his senior year in high school.

“I just really have a passion for the game and the community that comes along with it. I’ve met so many great people through this game, including Anthony and Andrew,” Buckwald said.

Buckwald said the team is grateful for the support Quinnipiac provided to help them get to the national competition.

“The university was super accommodating when it came to helping us out with all of the travel plans and logistics. All we had to do was show up and compete,” said Buckwald.  

Somers said the national win will help to bolster the tremendous growth Quinnipiac esports is experiencing. 

“Having our team up on the main stage and winning in front of thousands of high school students – and hopefully prospective Quinnipiac students – will do wonders for the program’s brand,” Somers said. “It’s helping them to become familiar with what Quinnipiac esports currently is and what we hope it can continue to be and grow into.”

The program is aligned with the NECC and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). At the MAAC Championships in April, Quinnipiac was named MAAC Program of the Year for a second year in a row and clinched a third consecutive Rocket League MAAC championship title, as well as taking home an Overwatch MAAC championship victory. The club has also won the MAAC Championships in Super Smash Bros. four years in a row (2022-2025) and was named the Valorant MAAC Champions in 2023.  

Quinnipiac esports teams have advanced to national competitions playing various game titles before, but never to the level of success seen by the Rocket League team this year, said Somers.

“They’ve been playing together as a core team for just over two years now. These guys put in a lot of work to see the success that they do — they compete in almost every Rocket League tournament that they can find. They won back-to-back MAAC championships for Rocket League and helped us to win program of the year,” said Somers.

Currently, about 10 Quinnipiac esports student teams participate across six different game titles in the program.

“I think that the esports club as a whole strives to have teams with a lot of different backgrounds. We’re always cheering each other on and we’re supportive of one another even though we participate in different games,” said Buckwald. “Outside of the student body, the families also play a huge part. They’ll tune into streams and watch us play. My parents were watching when we were participating in the Project I national championship.”

Team members build their skills at Quinnipiac’s esports Lab in the Rocky Top Student Center on the York Hill Campus. The 850-square foot lab houses 24 gaming PCs and a console gaming space. Teams also have access to gaming spaces at The SITE on the Mount Carmel Campus.  

“To see them grow, thrive and be celebrated by the university is really awesome,” said Somers. “I know the team is so appreciative of everything that they get, and hopefully they can keep things going and bring some more success to Quinnipiac.”