Erik Smiles, Director of Athletics, Recreation and Intramurals at Hostos Community College is pleased to announce that Willis Li has been selected to lead the Coed Esports program.
"Throughout this pandemic our institution was looking for ways to keep students engaged and connected to the college. Our new Coed Esport program does just that while allowing our students an opportunity to connect with teammates and compete and the hiring of Coach Li as our first Coed Esports Head Coach will take the building of this program to the next level." Stated Smiles. "Coach Li stood out to me because he has a history of starting and building Esport programs from the ground up and has a deep commitment to inclusion, relationships and community building."
Smiles continued, “Coach Li’s experience of not only being a high-level gamer but starting competitive Esport club programs at the college level has him uniquely prepared to help the growth of our varsity NJCAAE Esports program here at Hostos.”
“I am really excited to have this opportunity to build our Varsity Coed Esports team here at Hostos” stated Li. “With Esports spreading as a varsity sport including here in CUNY and at the NJCAA we have an opportunity to build something special.”
Coach Li comes to Hostos with a wide-ranging background in Esports as a player, coach and program builder at the college level. Most recently Coach Li founded, built and coached the competitive Esports club program at Long Island University where his members competed nationally in titles such as Madden, Overwacth, NBA2K, League of Legends and many other titles. While at Long Island University Li was also the captain of the Sharks Varsity Esport team competing in both League of Legends and Overwatch.
Coach Li has also coached in amateur Esport leagues including the ultra-competitive League of Legends scene across all ELO ranges. Li is also a qualified Risen’s Premier League coach who has mentored players averaging grandmasters plus ELO. Outside of the competitive Esport arena Li has also worked with many Esport organizations as a social media strategist and as a broadcaster.
Coach Li currently resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. and graduated from Long Island University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Game Design.
