UAlbany Esports Featured on Capital Region Gaming Podcast

By Mike Nolan

ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 16, 2025) — The UAlbany Esports team has returned this semester with its largest amount of competition in program history.

The program, which has 85 team members, is now competing across six national collegiate leagues in games including Overwatch 2, League of Legends, Smash Bros. Ultimate, Valorant, Rocket League, Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear Strive and Splatoon 3.

John Macone, a gaming community specialist and collegiate esports leader with nearly a decade of experience, took over as UAlbany’s new esports director two years ago. As program leader, he oversees about a dozen competitive teams.

Macone, along with UAlbany Esports student program coordinator Henry Scholl and Lucia Ramirez, a member of the Super Smash Bros team, sat down with WTEN’s Anthony Krolikoswki to chat about the program’s rapid growth and success.

Krolikoswki recently launched “Bits & Boards,” a podcast focused on the Capital Region gaming scene.

“Historically, our teams have been involved in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference. This year we're competing in many different national leagues,” Macone told Krolikoswki. “So, there’s a lot more to manage with our teams to reach their aspirations and goals. We are also now livestreaming all events.”

Through the support of President Rodríguez and the Division of Student Affairs, UAlbany Esports launched in 2019 under the direction of Michael Leczinsky, professor of practice in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity.

The team has quickly grown into one of the country’s largest collegiate competitive video gaming programs and has won several national championships. UAlbany junior and Street Fighter player Kenta Lange also reached the national stage earlier this year, finishing third at the 2025 Collegiate Esports Commissioner's Cup.

Last fall, UAlbany unveiled a new 4,000-square-foot gaming arena to meet the growing needs of the program. The arena is open during the semester for competitive team practices and matches, as well as general student use between 3 and 10 p.m. daily. 

“The arena is becoming a facility where competition is balanced with general student need,” Macone said, “My hope is that we can continue to support all student gamers on our campus and beyond.”

The UAlbany Esports arena has a game library of 30 titles. More are expected to be added this semester with student feedback.