Smash Brothers Ultimate Added to Esports Varsity Lineup

Northwestern to compete in three games in 2023-24

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Northwestern Director of Esports Cole Prescott has announced the addition of Smash Brothers Ultimate to the program's esports offerings, beginning in the 2023-24 academic year.

"I am extremely excited to be adding a Super Smash Brothers Ultimate team to our esports program," Prescott noted. "Smash has been an esports staple for years."

Smash Bros. Ultimate is a high-paced fighting game produced by Nintendo. It features iconic characters from franchises like Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Pokemon, and more. The game is easy to pick up, hard to master, and is popular on college campuses and in professional gaming communities.

The game becomes the third current esports offering, as Northwestern also fields Overwatch and Rocket League squads.

"Unlike our current titles, which are played on PC, Smash is a console title played on the Nintendo Switch," said Prescott. "Console gaming is popular in the Midwest, and adding Smash to our program creates opportunities for a whole new group of students to participate in esports at Northwestern."

Northwestern esports has seen recent success, with the Rocket League varsity team winning the 2022 National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) Emergents Great Plains conference championship.

Students interested in joining the Smash Brothers Ultimate team can submit an esports recruit form at the link at the top of the story.

"No matter what games and teams we add, the pillars of our program remain the same: selfless positivity, excellence, ownership, and empathy," Prescott said of the program's new offering. "We've built a great culture and environment where students can thrive academically, build authentic relationships, and be challenged to grow personally, professionally, and competitively. I can't wait to see our new Smash players reap the benefits of the foundation we've built over the last four years."

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