At a glance
“We went from playing on MacBooks to playing on nice PCs in a couple years which was impressive. It was fun for me, but it was a lot of work form all of us to get to that point. It proved to me that what Professor Neuberger said in class was true, if you put the time in, you are going to get the results you want.”
Austin Clay '20
Connections and lessons learned at Alfred State College has helped Austin Clay, ’20 to a career that he loves. The friends he made during his college days along with a lesson taught by Professor Larry Neuberger still motivate him to this day.
He always would sit down with me and explain to me that if you put the work in you could get the results you wanted. I really follow that philosophy. He was always letting me know that I needed to focus on certain things and get things done. It was always motivating me.”
Austin came to Alfred State knowing he wanted to do something in the game design field. His brother, Taylor '19, was already a student so he was familiar with campus and was excited to see where the digital animation and design major would take him.
Outside the classroom, Austin wanted to take the established casual campus gaming club and make it more. “One of my friends, John, was joking about doing Esports and I took it seriously. I went home for the summer and did all the research and found the thing we wanted to join. I talked to Spencer [Peavey], and we just ran with it and hit the ground running.”
Esports started at Alfred State in 2018 and two years later there were 200 students in the club and six teams competing. 2
His greatest memory of his time competing at Alfred State was at the Empire State Winter Games Esports Tournament. The Pioneers entered the “Overwatch” tournament as an underdog but earned victories over Louisiana Tech, Stockton, Johnson & Wales, and St. Peter’s to earn a spot in the finals. In the finals, ASC defeated Albany 3-1 to earn gold medals and the $2,000 grand prize.
“We beat arguably the best team in New York. They were all top 500 players, and we were all mid-tier players. We win 3-1 and got first place, won some gold medals, and got some prize money. Those guys played the hearts out and they did exactly what I wanted them to do. That was my send-off as the coach for the team here.”
Seeing results at Alfred State pushed Austin to making a career of working in Esports. He worked with Professor Alex Cole to find a way into the industry. “He helped me out a lot with applying, on resume building, and practice interviews.”
Austin would accept a job at a college in Kansas before graduation, but COVID changed plans and he ended up searching for another opportunity. A door opened at Concord (WV) University, and he began building a program like he had done at Alfred State.
He has built a program that has teams that compete in ten different games and has gone from 17 members to 52 with hopes of being at 70 for the upcoming school year. Austin has worked with the college to develop a Esports management major.
“With the knowledge I got from Alfred I was able to create the major. Now students can take a four-year degree. We are teaching students to be coaches, team managers, graphic designers, social media, interviewers, and more.”
Since his graduation, Alfred State has opened “The Underground.” The space in Pioneer Center has opened more options and possibilities for current students interested in gaming.
“I love this space; Spencer and I talked about utilizing this room when I was here. Seeing it done and completed is amazing. This is a beautiful arena. This is exactly what everyone wants and the fact that Alfred has one and Alfred is one of the few universities in the nation that has something like this very impressive.”
Austin and his friends returned to Alfred to reconnect with each other, their former professors, and the current team members. They were present when the current team had “Overwatch” and “Valorant” matches versus different colleges and the next night they took the stage and competed versus the current players in charity matches.
“Being able to see all my guys and hanging out with them is so amazing. It is like we are back in college and joking around and coming out playing games. Without their motivation and helping me continue my path I would not be where I am today. My guys were the ones who kept pushing me, helping me, making sure that I was focused, and not pushing myself too hard.”
“It is amazing to see all my guys here and some of the current guys. I just saw some of you current guys in classes and now they're down here playing. This is what I love to see. They are dedicated to academics but soon as they have the time, they are down here getting better. The momentum that I started is still going forward and I am really excited to see how it goes. Alfred is going in the right direction.”
The competition between the alumni team and the current team resulted in a fun, competitive evening but more importantly raised $2,000 for Doctors without Borders.
For Austin, it was great to reconnect with his friends and the college that started him on his career path.
“These guys here are making the same bonds that I made when I was in college. I am very happy that my friends came along for the ride. Happy that they continue to have faith in me. It means the world to me.”