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Marietta College esports wraps up season with national tournament play

Awards ceremony honors former teammate

by Linda Lockhart

Marietta, OH (05/16/2025) — The esports team at Marietta College brought their season to a conclusion in May with two teams competing in their divisional national tournaments in the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC). Earlier in the year, in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the Fortnite team qualified for the championship, finishing 8th in the U.S. During the first week of May all six esports teams gathered to celebrate the relatively new program's success. The Marietta College program first competed as a recognized sport in 2021.

At the May awards ceremony, success and sadness intermixed as a new award was introduced to honor a founding member. Michael Funka, who said he "found his people" when he joined esports, passed away in February. Coach Derek Games said Funka was "electrically positive, persevering through countless hardships, and always doing so with the biggest smile on his face."

Funka was "one of the most jovial, positive, and caring individuals I have come across in my 31 years on this planet" Games added. He "extended to everyone the Golden Rule of treating others the way he would want to be treated."

To memorialize the esports program Pioneer, Funka's jersey was framed and will be hung in the esports arena as a reminder of the "positivity and perseverance" that he exhibited day in and day out. Funka's parents, Michael D. and Elizabeth Funka, traveled from their home in West Alexander, Pennsylvania to attend the ceremony. The first Michael W. Funka award was presented to Corey Verkouteren.

Marietta College is one of many colleges and universities that have added an esports team to their athletics portfolio as the esports industry continues to grow worldwide. U.S. revenues in 2025 are expected to reach nearly $650 million. Over 500 colleges in North America-including Marietta College--now offer esports scholarships, signaling the mainstreaming of competitive gaming within academia.

In acknowledgement of the rapidly accelerating popularity and the demand for additional management of esports' events, Marietta College recently added a new esports management track as an option in the sports management major. The new program track, focused on the business and management of esports, began accepting applications in April. Students can apply to begin in fall 2025.

The Marietta College esports teams include: the Valorant team, which finished 11-6 for the year and finished third in the conference; the Super Smash Bros. team; the Rocket League team; the Rainbow Six: Siege team, which played in the quarterfinals of the divisional national tournament and finished 8-8 on the season; the Overwatch team, which lost in the final fight of the quarterfinal round of the divisional national tournament and finished the season 12-7; and Fortnite, which earned a high-level national finish. The overall record among all the teams was 32-33, which is the best in program history.

Media Attachments

The Michael W. Funka award was created to honor the son of Elizabeth and Michael D. Funka, who attended a ceremony at Marietta College where the first award was presented by the esports coach.

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