Smith hired as first esports coach
MEQUON, Wis. -- Concordia Wisconsin Director of Athletics Dr. Rob Barnhill announced the hiring of Lewis Smith as esports head coach, the first in program history.
"I am very excited to welcome esports and our new coach Lewis Smith to CUW," Barnhill stated. "Esports programs are the fastest growing intercollegiate sport in the U.S. right now and keeping with our long-standing tradition of leading the way in sports adoption we have jumped in with both feet. We look forward to seeing new esports students have the opportunity to develop in mind, body and spirit while representing the falcons in the cyber arena."
Lewis started his professional career in the sports industry while he was pursuing his Bachelor's Degree in Minnesota. While living in the Twin Cities, Lewis worked for multiple major sports organizations including; Major League Baseball, Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Vikings and the NCAA. Lewis began to track and analyze sports statistics professionally, with Sports Radar, and as a hobby, he founded Fantasy Sports clubs on the University of Minnesota campus.
"I have always been a fan of and admired collegiate athletics," Lewis said. "When I began my career in esports, it was a wild dream of mine that someday esports and traditional sports could live together within the same collegiate athletic department. Never did I think I would be granted the opportunity to lead this initiative for a university in my home state of Wisconsin. Concordia University Wisconsin truly believes in the esports industry and I am honored to be working with them to build this department and find the same success as their other athletic programs."
It was Lewis' passion for statistics and Fantasy gaming that brought him to the esports industry. In 2014, Lewis made the transition from a career in traditional sports to a career in esports as he co-founded RankR eSports in New Berlin, Wisconsin. From there he was hired as a journalist for Rotowire Sports as they launched their esports department. Lewis primarily covered DotA 2 and Hearthstone for Rotowire, publishing articles for ESPN during his tenure. While working as a journalist, Lewis entered into the esports sponsorship industry, working for GMR Marketing to help grow their eSports department. Lewis gained experience implementing professional sponsorships with major eSports organizations like Electronic Sports League (ESL) and Evil Geniuses. Most recently, Lewis has worked with Esports One, an esports data & analytics company, to launch their fantasy esports platform.
