League Cru has been a staple organization here at UMHB since its founding back in 2015. The organization is known for its esports events such as Super Smash Brothers Ultimate tournaments, themed group gaming sessions, and 24-hour gaming events. But the organization was not always like that. Early on, League Cru focused more on multiplayer online games such as League of Legends, and the org hosted gaming sessions primarily through online chat services like Discord. The pandemic of 2020 changed things, however, as events became harder to plan and activity within the organization became stagnant.
Under the leadership of President Matt Jackson and Vice President Jordan Fernandez, League Cru has taken on a new role within the community. The organization is hosting in-person events again and is trying to expand its reach, by joining up with Central Texas Smash Ultimate, or CTX for short, which is an organization separate from UMHB that organizes Super Smash Bros tournaments across the central Texas area. This helps to increase League Cru’s influence beyond the bounds of UMHB, as they play host to visiting players during their semi-weekly tournaments. By doing so, League Cru creates an environment of improvement, as more experienced players can challenge students to improve.
Not only does League Cru create a community of gaming, but they also use their community for good.
“We’ve been really big into community engagement,” said League Cru President Jackson, who has helped integrate gaming with community outreach projects.
Last fall semester, League Cru hosted a canned food drive during one of their evening gaming sessions, all proceeds of which went to The Source, an on-campus food pantry for students. In the past, League Cru has also joined in on events benefiting McLane’s Children’s Hospital by participating in the Heart of Gold dance marathon event, representing gaming in the 80s. Jackson was proud to help with the event.
“As a whole, that raised $10k to give back to the kids,” Jackson said.
That is not the only time League Cru has done something like this.
“We’ve partnered with McLane’s Children Hospital for other events as well,” says Matt, “such as extra life, which is a 24-hour live stream where all donations and proceeds we get during the live stream go straight to the children’s hospital.”
That is one of the many recent changes made to the organization since the pandemic, as President Jackson has become increasingly focused on using League Cru for good.
“We really like to be in the spirit of giving, of being engaged, and making sure that we are not just here as a gaming community, we are here as a larger community on campus,” he said.
League Cru hosts biweekly Super Smash Bros Tournaments on Monday nights at 7 p.m. alongside other events. The main way readers can stay informed on upcoming events is by joining the League Cru Discord as well as the League Cru Instagram page, @leaguecru, which contains a link to their Discord as well as their other social media channels.
Photo:
From left to right: John Billingsley, visiting player, and Matt Jackson, President of League Cru, playing in the tournament hosted by UMHB on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022.
Photo by: Brock Pfrommer/TheBells
