Heading into the program's fourth year, both the Oakland University Rocket League and Smash Bros. teams claimed notable achievements in being one of 32 teams in the country to qualify for Collegiate Rocket League (CRL) and claiming the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) Varsity Premier Smash Bros. conference championship.

NACE Varsity Premier is equivalent to a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I conference, such as the Horizon League, in your more traditional sports. And, Smash Bros. posted an undefeated 6-0 regular season record and qualified for the top-16 national playoffs as the 4th seed.

Consisting of senior and team captain Austin "Spectral" Kujawa, sophomore Tristan "Triscuit" Toma and freshmen Pablo "Avien" Avila, Anthony "Anthony Isnt Cool" Codd, and Robert "Rob" Rabinowitz, the Smash Bros. team aims to make the national championship match for the first time in program history. Their top 16 match against Shenandoah University will be streamed on November 9th at 8:30pm EST (https://twitch.tv/oaklandesports).

"This team has the potential to beat the very best teams in the country," head coach Carl Leone said regarding the Smash Bros. team.

Smash took third place of 17 teams in the first Riptide Collegiate Crew Battle event on Sept. 8 and took second of eight teams at Confluence Festival 2023. In both tournaments the team only lost to Michigan State University.

Rocket League, made up of senior and team captain Aidan "Whale" Cay, senior Seth "Tisonic Boom" Tison and freshman Nicholas "Peep" Stief competed in the first National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) conference that featured only NCAA Division I schools. The conference which is considered the most difficult Rocket League conference in NACE had five of the nice teams qualify for Collegiate Rocket League (CRL).  Rocket League boasted a 6-2 regular season record qualifying for playoffs.

Besting the James Madison Dukes, 4-0 on Monday, Oct. 23, the Rocket League team fell to the Texas Dallas Comets 3-4 in a heartbreaking match that ended their NACE playoff run. But, the team reached new heights by qualifying for College Rocket League (CRL) with a 6-1 record during the qualifier. This season is the first time in program history that Oakland has qualified for Fall CRL, having previously only qualified in the Spring season.

"I'm very proud of our Rocket League team. They have made vast improvements throughout the fall," Head Coach Carl Leone said regarding the Rocket League team.

The Golden Grizzly Overwatch 2 squad consisting of team captain Matthew "Jax" Jurj, seniors Chase "Bedhead" Pronger, Ian "Creator Core" Koss, Juniors Domenic "Krawi" Akrawi, Alex "Carbon" Littell, Steve "Stev" Lonsdale-Verbiest, and sophomores Ryan "Aerospace" Kovacs, Brad "FrothyFilly7" Husk, Charlie "Berk" Borgmann also found success in the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) conference that featured only NCAA Division I schools. The roster consisting of Overwatch boasted a 5-1 regular season record only losing to the conference champions, Boise State University. Overwatch defeated Ferris State University 3-1 on Oct. 24, earning their place in the national top 16 bracket. Their first match is also against Shenandoah University and will be streamed on Nov. 7 at 8:30pm EST (https://twitch.tv/oaklandesports).

"This is a historic season for our Overwatch team. For the first time in program history they made it to the national top 16 with no plans of slowing down now! This team just keeps exceeding my expectations every season," Head Coach Carl Leone said regarding the Overwatch team.

Overwatch also competed in Blizzard's College circuit: Overwatch Collegiate Homecoming placing 40th of 374 teams with a record of 7-3 in the swiss format tournament. Overwatch took first place out of eight teams at the Battle for the Midwest event on Nov. 4.

The Oakland League of Legends team of team captain Henry "Hensap" Huang, seniors Alyssa "Thepurpleace" Christoff and Noah "Wags" Wagberg, junior Eric "WZEC" Cheang, and sophomores Bennett "Bensap" malburg and Joe "Shaggyy" Pawlowski had more difficulty in the regular season posting a 4-3 regular season record in their NACE Varsity Premier conference. The League team will return in the spring and compete in College League of Legends (CLOL).

For the first time in program history, Oakland fielded a Smash Bros. B team, consisting of freshmen Ian "SPECTRE" Sellman, Lucas "NAD79" Fehn, and Pablo "AVIEN" Avila. The roster is currently competing in the National Esports Collegiate Conferences (NECC). The team is 3-1 and poised to make the playoffs. Their next match is November 7th against Harper College.

To watch the team compete, be sure to follow the Oakland Esports Twitter for upcoming competition schedules, as well as the Oakland Esports Twitch for live streaming of the competitions.