ANGOLA, Ind. – Trine University Assistant Vice President for Athletics Matt Land has announced that Travis Isbell will become the school's second Director of Esports.
"Travis brings a wealth of knowledge about esports to the Thunder program," said Land, "We are extremely excited for him to take our already successful student-athletes to the next level over the upcoming seasons."
Isbell comes to Trine having served most recently as the director of esports at Kansas Wesleyan University. While there he rebuilt the program from scratch. Preparing student-athletes for team competition while also recruiting a new freshman class for the program. He has also served as an esports program director for St. Thomas (Fla.) University.
"I would like to thank Coach Land for this wonderful opportunity," says Isbell, "I am excited to take Thunder esports to the next level as we enter competition in the newly formed Great Lakes Esports Conference. The landscape of collegiate esports is changing and it is great to be a part of that."
In addition to his previous duties as program director, Isbell brings a plethora of experience with competitive gaming to the Trine. He has served as interim head coach for Frostbite Gaming as well as working individuals from all across the esports world from professional teams to small local clubs.
Before joining the coaching ranks, Isbell led an extremely successful gaming career including a stint as a professional in Korea. During his time he reached the top one percent of all games he competed in including Overwatch where he reached that distinction as both a player and coach. He was also invited to be a part of the 2019 ESPN Collegiate Esports Championship during his graduate studies.
Isbell recently graduated with a master's degree in secondary studies from the University of Southern California. He attended California State University – Fresno for his undergraduate degree graduating in 2009.