UNA Esports Wins Fall 2024 College Halo National Championship
Dec. 05, 2024
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – The University of 麻豆社 Alabama Esports Team secured the Fall 2024 College Halo National Championship, capping off a remarkable season with an undefeated record. The Lions finished the season 10-0 in regular season play, 4-0 in the postseason, and achieved an impressive overall map count of 33-1.
“I’ve been chasing something like this since 2007 when I was 15 and Halo 3 had just released,” said Dillon White, who goes by the gamertag Odin. “Obviously, we still feel as though the job isn’t finished, and we have much more to accomplish. But this was definitely a childhood dream come true.”
The 2024 season featured victories over prominent Power 5 Esports programs, including Mississippi State University, Clemson University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Oklahoma. In the playoffs, UNA asserted its dominance with decisive victories over Southern Nazarene University, New Mexico State University, and the University of Oklahoma. The Lions finished the tournament in style, sweeping York College Pennsylvania 3-0 in the grand finals to claim the championships.
In addition to White (Odin), the championship team members include Colton Smith (StanTheCarMan), Chase Miller (Kiljxy), and Nick Morris (Zenny).
Communication during the game has been the key to this season’s success, according to StanTheCarMan.
“We often struggled through the semester in certain maps when our comms would get low energy, and we would play just about as flat as the comms would get,” he said. “Being able to screen and be the hype man for the team really helped give everyone the energy we needed the entire tournament. We also practiced multiple times a week, and when we were not practicing, we were watching VOD [video on demand] or playing the game recreationally with each other.”
The championship marks the second national title for UNA Esports, following the 2021 NECC “Overwatch” Championship. The program has continued its success, earning NECC divisional championships in “Valorant” and “League of Legends” in Fall 2023.
Kiljxy said it “feels amazing” to bring a national championship title to UNA.
It’s “a real honor to represent the school and represent our club that is working hard every day,” he said. “I really hope that this win helps cement Esports in the foundation of UNA, and, if any students who happen to play games think they have something to contribute ot want to help in any way, reach out and become part of the growing scene.”
Fans can watch and celebrate the UNA Esports team’s continued success by following the team on Twitch, X, and Instagram at @UNA_Esports.
About The University of 麻豆社 Alabama
The University of 麻豆社 Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of 麻豆社 Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: and .