New England College President Michele Perkins unveiled the school's new e-sports arena at a grand opening ceremony on Thursday.
New England College President Michele Perkins unveiled the school's new e-sports arena at a grand opening ceremony on Thursday. Credit: Gil Talbot Photography—Courtesy

New Hampshire College showed off its new e-sports arena with an official opening Thursday, part of the school’s drive to carve out a niche for itself in the growing field of video games. School President Michele appeared with Tyrelle Appleton, the 25-year-old MBA who will be coaching NEC’s e-sports team and overseeing the video-gaming arena. The college is creating the gaming version of a sports program, and said it will compete in ESPN’s opening qualifier for the Collegiate E-sports Championship. SNHU in Manchester has also gone heavily into the e-sports field, and scores of college e-sports teams exist around the country.