“My brother and I used to argue over who got to play Pokemon on the Gameboy so often that our parents ended up buying us a second one,” said Matthew Burnstedt. “Ever since then, I’ve been playing games.” After several weeks of searching for a new esports head coach, AU has hired Burnstedt to fill the position. “I'm originally from a small town of about 200 people in Iowa called Libertyville,” said Burnstedt. Burnstedt said that he has been playing video games for as long as he can … [Read more...]
Raven Watch 2020-12-07
On this episode of the Raven Watch Podcast, Jordan is joined by former Big Ten Player of the Year and Indiana Pacer Clark Kellogg as they discuss displaying your faith in sports, Clark’s career as a player and broadcaster and his game of “H.O.R.S.E.” with President Obama. … [Read more...]
Raven Watch 2020-12-03
On this episode, Jordan Yaney sits down with senior soccer player Drew Sonnefeldt to discuss his soccer career, trips to Europe, hobbies, and dreams of playing professional soccer … [Read more...]
Dr. Lambright steadies the gaming ship
Under Dr. Justin Lambright’s continued assistance throughout a three-year period of building and adjustment, the AU esports team is now set for regular competition. After securing a $25,000 Falls Development Initiative grant, Lambright helped build a lab for games to be played and recruited a team of students ready to play. “I’ve been involved with this from the beginning,” said Lambright. “When our first coach resigned early this semester, I had been working fairly … [Read more...]
Esports offers new ‘scholarship’
This year, AU introduced the new esports program. While COVID-19 had previously stalled the opening of this program, the esports team has finally participated in their first few events. Esports, or competitive gaming, is a sport made up of several teams that compete against other schools in their respective video games. One interesting aspect of the new program is the inclusion of the esports “scholarship.” Interim Head Coach, Justin Lambright, commented on the new … [Read more...]
Esports team prepares for season without head coach
Last week, the head coach of AU’s new esports program resigned, leaving many with questions as to how and when the team’s season would begin. Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Justin Lambright, the faculty advisor for the esports program, has been working with Athletic Director Marcie Taylor to fill this newly vacant position. “Right now we're in the process of hiring a new head coach,” said Lambright. “We've got a couple of leads.” In the meantime, Lambright is stepping up … [Read more...]
Basketball star helps save lives
AU senior Maurice Knight has always been known on campus as a hero on the court, but he recently became much more than that. On Aug. 4, Knight and his friend Jake Richwine were the first on the scene of a serious two-car accident in Elwood. On their way home from doing yard work, Knight and Richwine noticed two cars in a field just off of County Roads 900 North and 750 West. “We saw two cars in a field that looked like they had wrecked,” Knight said. “I told Jake to pull over so we could … [Read more...]
HCAC postpones all fall sports
On Wednesday, August 26, in accordance with recommendations and risk assessments from the NCAA, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) announced their decision to shut down all athletic competitions for the fall semester. Previously, the low-contact sports of men’s and women’s tennis, cross country and golf were given the green light to compete, while high-contact sports, such as men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and football, were postponed until the spring season. Now, … [Read more...]
AU Athletics adds esports program
AU is taking on a new club this year in the form of esports gaming. The sport is essentially “the competitive playing of a certain video game by two organizations, or institutions in this case,” said AU esport player Sam Wells. Wells, along with his teammates, will be competing in games of Rocket League, League of Legends, CS:GO, Valorant and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) this year. Esports head coach Duncan Vosburg stated, “I’m hoping we can continue to add to this list, … [Read more...]
HCAC moves several fall sports to spring season
The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference announced Monday that they are moving several fall sports—including football, men’s and women’s soccer, and volleyball—to the spring semester in response to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases across the country. The announcement came via a press release after months of speculation as to whether college sports would be played as scheduled in the fall semester. “The decisions on shifting the competitive seasons for these high contact risk sports … [Read more...]