SOUTHFIELD--Lawrence Technological University director of athletics Mary Ann Meltzer has announced the appointment of Benjamin Sobczyk as the Blue Devils new head coach for Esports. The University of Louisville graduate joins the LTU program after a stint at Baker College – Royal Oak since May.

"This opportunity means the world to me. Lawrence Tech has the drive and passion for the challenges they take on. It is that energy which matches what I have for Esports that tells me this is a home to be truly proud of. Lawrence Tech has all the right ingredients to become the next big thing in academic esports, and I am excited to get to work on making that happen," stated Sobczyk.

Meltzer added: "Benjamin impressed the search committee with his skillset in academia combined with Esports program development and coaching. His enthusiasm for the sport and vision for the program at LTU became very apparent to us. He checked all the boxes in head coaching qualities that we were looking for to continue to build on the successes that Blue Devils founding coach Danielle Sirekis established. I look forward to working with Benjamin in taking our Esports program to new heights."

While at Baker College – Royal Oak, Sobczyk served as the head coach for Rocket League, Valorant and Overwatch 2, overseeing practices, achieving team goals, and implementing monthly community game nights online. In coordinating the development of the school's Esports program, he parterned with sponsors and stakeholders to meet both school and business objectives, secured scholarship money for both club and varsity athletics, worked on recruitment strategies to increase enrollment in Esports and conducted feasibility studies to build out additional arenas on multiple campuses.

One of many highlights during his short tenure was the school's opportunity to host the Arcadian Smash tournament in December 2023 that saw over 180 players descend on campus and be involved in the development of the school's first student government association.

Concurrently, Sobczyk also was an adjunct faculty member in the University of Michigan – Flint School of Management teaching the Introduction to Esports Business, a class that introduces students to Esports Business techniques covering marketing, finance, governance, player management, events and careers.

Before that, he was the head coach for Overwatch 2, Valorant and League of Legend for a season at Bellarmine University in 2022-23. In that capacity, he oversaw practices, student-athlete recruitment and retention, and achieving team objectives. In coordinating the development of the Knights' Esports program, he managed social media, developed a summer camp to meet recruitment goals, ran a local high school tournament in collaboration with Jefferson County Public Schools and secured scholarship money for the team.
           
Sobczyk also was a full-time faculty member at the University teaching in the sports administration curriculum as well as creating classes under their minor in Esports.

Sobczyk said about the future of his LTU tenure, "I've been a passionate gamer for a long time and this path into Esports coaching has been such a wild, fun ride. My main focus has always been about providing an amazing community that wasn't around when I was in school. I feel like this is a chance to show administrators, parents and sponsors alike that Esports has tremendous value in the academic setting. But more importantly, it is a chance to provide students with the best possible experience.

Sobczyk's goals for the Blue Devils are to "start establishing more team building activities across all the different titles we field and traditions that are the norm in traditional sports but need to be created in the Esports world." Additionally, he wants to continue to "recruit the top talent in the region, to build upon our established social media presence, and to foster additional connections to local gaming communities in Detroit."

Sobczyk received his bachelor of arts degree in history with a concentration in social sciences from Louisville in 2010. He earned his master's degree in education, in an alternative certification program, two years later at Spalding University.

Sobczyk also has 10 years' work experience teaching at the high school and middle school levels in Kentucky.

He started his LTU duties on March 11, 2024.