Brooklyn College Bulldogs Esports team building a contender

Over the past decade, collegiate esports has vaulted from niche LAN rooms — dedicated spaces where players connect to a local network for low-latency, face-to-face competition — to elaborate recruiting lists and budget lines, complete with national conferences, travel weekends, and streamed playoffs that draw live audiences. Brooklyn College is an institution squarely in that surge. Under Director of Esports Alexander Raff, the Bulldogs aren’t just chasing trophies, they’re building a program that doubles as a campus commons for a commuter school, where students stay because they’ve found a team and a community.

Raff’s path to the keyboard ran through a wrestling mat and the military, where he taught combatives. Two hip surgeries ended his combat sport days, but his competitive instincts mapped neatly onto the wildly popular online battle game “League of Legends.” He coached high-level amateur squads, then returned to college in 2020 with a vision: to create a pipeline to pro-tier play while also opening professional pathways in the broader games industry.

“We had to make the case that this was athletics-adjacent and a student-engagement engine — especially at a commuter school,” Raff said in a recent interview at Brooklyn College with the AmNews.

In just a few years, that vision has transformed from an idea, into one of the most active and recognized student programs on campus. Brooklyn College Esports now fields rosters across “League of Legends,” “Valorant,” “Overwatch,” “Rocket League,” “Super Smash Bros,” and “Ultimate.” Practices are structured, expectations are high, and the program has earned a reputation across the CUNY system as a consistent finals contender.

A 2022–23 student referendum created a dedicated esports budget — covering staffing, competition fees, jerseys, and high-speed networking — and funded a permanent space decked out in Brooklyn College’s maroon. The facility features 20 gaming PCs arranged in two facing banks, a console corner with a large display, ample seating for socializing and watch parties, and a trophy case (“I’ve got 11 at home,” Raff joked).

Club president Moustafa Salem sees that room as the program’s promise made tangible. “It’s really humbling and exciting to be able to work for such a large and diverse community and to be able to make something meaningful that people can enjoy,” he said. “It’s been a long effort to build the club room and create a place where students can play games and have fun on campus.

“Legacy wise,” he added, “I want the club to be open to everyone, so anyone can connect to a community that shares their interests and make friends. Openness and welcome should be the way it’s run.”

Inclusivity isn’t an add-on — it’s built into the design. The program incorporates adaptive peripherals and uses accessibility settings across titles. At a campus where many students commute and major in STEM fields, Raff frames esports as both an outlet and an onramp. Its four-pillar model spans casual community, competitive play, professional development, and, through collaboration with the Business School, early academic pathways into the business of games.

Partnerships reinforce the loop. Red Bull Gaming collaborations have led to student hires. The NYC Video Game Festival’s collegiate slate co-led with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, and CUNY rivalries with CCNY, Baruch, Hunter, and the College of Staten Island, the current heavyweight of “Overwatch”.

Near-term goals are both pragmatic and ambitious. Open the esports facility, deepen the roster, and become New York City’s benchmark — public or private.

“Esports makes me feel like we’re building toward progress,” Raff said. “A space, a schedule, and a standard, so that Brooklyn College students don’t just pass through campus, they plug in.”

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