JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The New Jersey City University eSports programs inaugural season was in the 2020-21 academic year, during which the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (SSBU) team claimed the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Fall Championship. With the pressure on, Jersey City eSports stood tall and went back-to-back as the Gothics – NJCU's varsity SSBU team – put together an undefeated ECAC record, earned the #1 overall seed in the playoffs and cruised to their second consecutive ECAC Fall SSBU title. Not to be outdone, Rocket League – also in its second season – claimed the program's first-ever New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) eSports championship in the Emergent Yellow division.

On the SSBU side, head coach Joshua Case fields three overall teams: the 'Gothics' (varsity), the 'Knights' (junior varsity) and then one combined team specifically for the Collegiate Smash Conference – a first-year secondary conference that allows NJCU to compete against some of the top programs around the country. Jersey City went 7-0 in the Collegiate Smash regular-season, securing the #4 overall seed in the playoff bracket. From there, NJCU cruised through the 32-team bracket and finished third overall behind the University of Houston and Collegiate champion University of Texas-Dallas.
 
"Although for many of the teams, Collegiate Smash is not their primary conference, it gives us an opportunity to face many of the best programs in the country," said Case. "Placing behind Houston and UT-Dallas – two of the best in the nation – speaks volumes to our standing as a program around the country, almost even more so than back-to-back ECAC titles."
 
During ECAC competition, the 'Gothics' went a perfect 13-0 – including playoffs – but none of those wins were bigger than the two over Bay State College. Despite being a first-year program, Bay State qualified for the championships in nearly every team they sponsor. The Gothics defeated Bay State 2-0 in the regular-season finale, and then again – this time 2-1 – in the championship match to officially go back-to-back. Meanwhile, the 'Knights' ended the year 5-4 overall – including a berth in the first round of the ECAC Playoffs. The team accomplished much and, according to Case, many could easily compete with the Gothics at the higher level and at least two may bump up in the future. A couple signature wins for them include Nazareth College Gold and the University of Kentucky Black, both 2-0 victories.

"This success means a lot to me because I came into this job with tempered expectations for a brand-new program, however what we have achieved in such a short time is more than I could have ever imagined," said Case. "This team has made the school, the entire eSports program and me as a coach all look amazing. It is a massive success all around for this program, which has now set a precedent moving forward for all our other teams. It was even a challenge to the Rocket League team to win their championship, and they did! It is also great for the local growth of eSports; for example Kean University just started a program and we defeated them on our way to the championship, establishing what we hope will be a long-standing rivalry."
 
The program's other head coach, Justin Flanagan, runs the Rocket League and Valorant teams, the latter in its first-ever season.

Flanagan's Rocket League squad had but one blemish on their 7-1 regular-season record when they fell to Misericordia University in October in overtime, 3-2, in a best-of-five series. NJCU earned the #2 overall seed in the NECC Emergent Yellow playoff bracket – the Cougars were the #1 seed – and won their quarterfinal and semifinal matches, 3-0, to cruise to the title match. In a best-of-seven battle, the Gothic Knights got redemption from October when they defeated top-seeded Misericordia in overtime, 4-3, to join the championship party.
 
"It was great to win our first championship, but this is just the beginning," said Flanagan. "If Smash can win back-to-back, why can't we? This win lays the foundation for building even more successful programs here and we look forward to accepting the challenge."

Finally, in its first season, NJCU's Valorant team went 6-2 in the regular-season and earned the #3 overall seed in the NECC's Challengers Yellow Division playoff bracket, where they went 1-1, advancing all the way to the semifinal round.
 
"Really, Valorant is a team that we were figuring out the identity of throughout the season," said Flanagan. "For eSports, to start out as a group of individuals in our first season, it was amazing to see how they grew together day-in and day-out and by the end, they were really a team and a family. They reflected on this great season together and the future looks very bright."