WICHITA – Newman Athletics announces the addition of Esports.  The new sport will be Newman's twentieth offered across NCAA Division II and club levels. The targeted start of competition is Fall of 2023 with a nationwide search for the program's first head coach underway.

"We've spent three years researching the feasibility of adding Esports to our department," said NU Director of athletics, Joanna Pryor. "With the new academic offerings and the growing popularity of Esports across Wichita and the greater state of Kansas, we feel now is the time to capitalize on our efforts."

The University has recently announced the addition of new academic program offerings in Digital Design and Computer Science among others. The two programs and the offering of Esports at Newman will recruit a student that previously would not have had a program offering in Wichita.

The newly appointed Dean of the School of Business and Technology, David Cochran said, "Embracing the future, we teach cutting-edge, high-demand knowledge and skills, and we foster forward-thinking habits off curiosity, self-driven learning, and real-world experience. Grounded in time-tested wisdom and the highest moral ideals, we cultivate professionalism, critical thinking, effective communication, and ethical judgment."

The Newman Jets are the tenth Kansas college to add Esports and just the eighth 4-year institution. The Jets will be the newest member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). NACE's goal is to "bring Esports in line on campus with the support seen for traditional athletics." The Jets will compete in multiple games including some combination of League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, CS:GO, among other titles.

"We live in an ever-changing world where new skills are required to be excellent leaders in every profession." Pryor continued, "Our program offerings both academically and athletically display the purpose of empowering graduates to transform society."

Newman University, named for Saint John Henry Newman, is located in Wichita, Kansas and was founded in 1933 by the Adorer's of the Blood of Christ. For more information about the Head Coach position click here.