Mustang Athletics

SMSU Esports Completes First Segment of Inaugural Season

SMSU’s 19th intercollegiate sport, Esports, completed the first segment of its inaugural season in October as the team closed out the fall portion of its 2020-21 season.

SMSU, which announced the addition of Esports on Dec. 11, 2019, had 30 students on the inaugural roster for head coach Spencer Louwagie, who also works as an Information Technology Specialist at the University.

The Esports team competed in three different “games” during the months of September and October versus schools from all over the country. The fall schedule had the Mustangs compete in nine games in the “Rocket League,” four matches in “Valorant League” and four more matches in “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.” SMSU will also

The Southwest Minnesota State University Athletics Department is proud to call Marshall and southwest Minnesota home. Again this fall, SMSU’s nearly 400 student-athletes, coaches and staff are committed to being active members within the community.

The SMSU men’s basketball team partnered again with the United Way of Southwest Minnesota in its “Read for the Record” program. The team helped facilitate virtual readings of books at more than 150 locations, including classrooms, child care centers and libraries throughout the region.

Numerous teams again this year volunteered to help with fall clean-up at homes in Marshall, including the volleyball team, pictured above. The compete in games such as “League of Legends,”“Overwatch,”

“Fortnite,” “CSGO” and “Starcraft,” which will be determined based on student interest.

SMSU’s first-ever Esports victory came in Super

Smash Bros. Ultimate, with a 2-0 victory over

Concordia-St. Paul.

The Esports team, which competes in the National

Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), has a specific practice and competition space located in the Science & Technology building on campus. The room will eventually be outfitted with 24, top-of-the-line machines and gaming stations, in order to give the student-

SMSU Athletes Engage in Community Service To Stay Connected

athletes the best possible conditions to perform. work included raking leaves, cleaning garages and more.

“Our football program is committed to serving the community of Marshall,” said Cory Sauter, SMSU head football coach.

“This year we created a program called Servant Leadership Wednesday. Each Wednesday our team is involved in a community service project. We are so thankful for the support the city provides our university and student-athletes.”

Community engagement is a key part of Division II’s strategic initiatives. The effort emphasizes not only the relationship of the athletics program with the community, but also the interaction of the overall institution with the community in which it is located.

SMSU Athletics and Marshall Radio Producing Streamable Programming

The 2021 SMSU Athletics Hall of Honor induction, which was scheduled for January 23, has been postponed due to COVID-19. The plan is to induct the next Hall of Honor class in early 2022. The SMSU Athletics Hall of Honor, presented by US Bank, celebrates the achievements of student-athletes, coaches, teams and community members who have contributed in various ways to strengthening the athletic tradition at SMSU. To view the SMSU Athletics Hall of Honor members or to nominate an individual or team, go to SMSUmustangs.com/HallofHonor

The SMSU Athletics Department and Marshall Radio are pleased to produce several radio shows that air on local stations and are also available via podcast to help promote SMSU Athletics, its outstanding student-athletes and also look back at outstanding Mustang memories.

The long-standing weekly show, “Saturday Morning Mustang” returned again this fall airing each Saturday morning at 9:05 on 1400 AM KMHL. The weekly one-hour show airs with “The Voice of SMSU Athletics,” Ryan Rohlik, SMSU Director of Athletics Chris Hmielewski and SMSU Athletic Communications Director Kelly Loft, and features updates on Mustang Athletics along with interviews with SMSU head coaches.

Two additional shows were created this fall and are available on Marshall’s all-sports station, 107.5 FM The Fan. Each Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. “Meet the Mustang” airs with Rohlik conducting in-depth interviews with current SMSU student-athletes and head coaches.

On Friday nights at 5 p.m., Rohlik and Loft host “Mustang Memory,” which looks back at outstanding Mustang memories and feature in-depth interviews and stories with former SMSU student-athletes and coaches from the past 50-plus years of Mustang Athletics.

All Mustang Radio shows are available to listen and download at SMSUmustangs.com/ MustangRadio. All three shows can be heard live via streaming at MarshallRadio.net.

Mustang Radio Shows

• “Saturday Morning Mustang” on

Saturdays, 9:05 a.m., 1400 AM KMHL • “Meet the Mustang” on Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m., 107.5 FM The Fan • “Mustang Memory”on Fridays, 5 p.m.,

Hall of Honor Postponed to 2022

107.5 FM The Fan.

For SMSU athletics updates, visit SMSUMustangs.com OR