A New Era for Penn State Beaver Athletics: Introducing E-Sports and Coach Justin Summe

Monaca, PA – Penn State Beaver Athletics is proud to announce the addition of e-sports and the hiring of head coach Justin Summe. E-Sports will be the eighth varsity sport on the Beaver campus and will be the first co-ed sport.

E-sports is an up-and-coming part of collegiate athletics, and Beaver is excited to get involved.

With the addition of e-sports, Beaver’s Athletic Department is growing once again by hiring Summe. Though Summe is new to Beaver, he is not new to e-sports or coaching.

A veteran e-sports player and former e-sports coach and general manager for Echo Fox - a professional e-sports team - Summe is ready to step into this role and make a name for Beaver early as they begin to compete. Summe has built his programs through a strong passion not only for e-sports but psychology as well. Summe has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a passion for research; he has conducted and presented studies on the effects of mindfulness and meditation on cognitive function and mental health among Division I athletes and looks to bring that into perspective here.

“I look to empower emerging athletes with evidence-based tools and environments that maximize their biopsychosocial potential,” Summe said.

As he helps grow this program, Summe will look to combine his academic prowess with his real-world experience, both coaching and playing, to help our student-athletes develop their personal performance and wellness. Summe is excited to apply his knowledge and experience to foster a supportive, high-performance environment for his teams.

“We look forward to working with Coach Summe to develop this program and be a pioneer in the PSUAC and USCAA for e-sports,” said Andy Kirschner, athletic director. “This program is an exciting opportunity for the department and the campus community. Our staff and students look forward to having Coach Justin Summe join us and develop the program. We look forward to competing and cannot wait for the season to begin.”

The e-sports lounge will be located in the Laboratory Classroom Building Room 104. For more information regarding how to join e-sports please contact Coach Summe at jks733@psu.edu or Athletic Director Andy Kirschner at ack121@psu.edu.