HARRISBURG, PA — Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) students came together on Friday, April 24th, to host the annual PA Cup: a high school esports tournament planned and run by HU’s Esports Management, Production, and Performance students. This year, the event also offered programming for HU’s Esports STEM Exploration Day for high school students to learn more about the esports industry and offerings at HU.
Prior to the event, students in HU’s Live Event Management class received hands-on training in tournament planning. The class requires students to plan all aspects of the event, from choosing tournament formats to developing social media and streaming content, to running the actual event.
Online qualifiers were held earlier this year in Rocket League and Marvel Rivals; the top-four schools in each game qualified for the in-person semifinal and final matches at HU on the 24th. A total of 14 schools competed in the online qualifiers:
- Biglerville High School, Dieruff High School, Penn Manor, Upper Merion, and Catasauqua High School all competed in the Rocket League portion of the qualifier, with both Dieruff squads qualifying for the finals alongside Penn Manor and Biglerville.
- On the Marvel Rivals side, YouthPlaces, Innovative Arts Academy, Upper Merion, Catasauqua High School, Upper Perkiomen, and Harrisburg High all played for their chance to qualify for the finals. Innovative Arts Academy, Upper Perkiomen, and Harrisburg High’s two teams all qualified for the main event.
The main event on April 24th drew over 120 high school students to HU’s campus. Everyone kicked off the morning together in the UPMC Health Sciences Tower at Harrisburg University to hear welcoming remarks from Esports Management Professor Theresa Gaffney, MA, LPC, NCC and Interim President Dave Schankweiler.
Post-event, Professor Gaffney shared:
“PA Cup really exemplifies what HU students can do when put to the task. It’s true learning in action, and you can see it with all the effort put into making a wonderful experience for the high schools attending. It was really exciting to be there, and I can’t wait for what our future students are going to put on next year with their unique talent and abilities.”
After the warm welcome, the visiting students were then dismissed to their morning activities, including two panels, a Fortnite Zone Wars tournament, and tours of HU’s campus.
The first Esports Day panel featured three esports students at HU and was moderated by Professor Gaffney. Students shared their experiences of being in the esports management degree program and competing on The HU Storm competitive teams. Panelists included:
- Juelz Goss ’29 (Esports Management, JV FGC, Overwatch player)
- Michael Malone ’29 (Business Administration, JV Marvel Rivals player)
- Jordan Willey ’27 (Esports Management, JV FGC competitor, JV Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team manager)
The second panel of the day – Esports Professionals – featured Nick Marrone, Head Rocket League coach for professional esports organization M80, and Darren Moore, former CEO of Soniqs Esports. The panel was moderated by HU Esports student Nathan Mintzer ’27 and shed a light on the different pathways in professional esports.
During the morning activities of Esports Day, the Rocket League teams competed in their semifinal matches. The first match of the day pitted Biglerville against the Dieruff Gray Huskies. Biglerville took the match and punched their ticket to the finals.
Up next, Penn Manor took on the Dieruff Blue Huskies in a tough matchup – with Dieruff ultimately coming out on top. Despite the loss, Penn Manor’s Coach and HU Esports Management Student Nathan Mintzer declared: “You know we made an amazing event when the crowd can be heard through the caster’s mic!”
After the Esports Day activities ended and the HU Admissions Team provided a presentation over lunch, all attendees gathered to watch the Rocket League finals matchup featuring Biglerville versus the Dieruff Blue Huskies. Biglerville, who’ve competed in the PA Cup in the past, took the championship in a 4-0 sweep.
HU Coach and Esports Instructor, Nick Sutton, shared: “We decided to combine our Esports Day with PA Cup to give high school students an authentic look at what an HU student-run esports event looks like. By combining education with live competition, attendees were able to learn and experience what esports has to offer. Ending the day with everyone in the auditorium for the Rocket League Grand Finals captured the energy, community, and excitement that makes esports so impactful.”
Following Rocket League, the two Harrisburg High teams faced off against each other, with the Cougars taking the win and moving on to the finals. Upper Perkiomen took on Innovative Arts Academy in a close game, ultimately going the distance to Map 3, but Upper Perkiomen inched out a 2-1 win. In the Grand Finals match, the Harrisburg Cougars and the Upper Perkiomen Indians went back and forth in map wins, with UP taking Map 1 and Harrisburg High taking Map 2. In the third and final map, the teams were neck and neck. But Upper Perkiomen got the better of the Cougars and took home the PA Cup Marvel Rivals Championship 2-1.
Overall, HU Esports Day and the 2026 PA Cup provided high school students with an opportunity to compete and explore esports at the collegiate level and beyond. It was also an invaluable experiential learning opportunity for HU students to grow and hone their esports and event management skills right on campus. HU students ran the livestream, casted the matches, hosted the main stage, captured event photos, set up and tore down all the equipment, and more: highly transferrable skills they’ll be able to use in future esports events and beyond.
Be sure to check out the upcoming HU Impact Podcast episode in May, where HU Esports students share more about their experience at the 2026 PA Cup and Esports Day.
Harrisburg University thanks Rally Cry, the United States Space Force, and Members 1st Federal Credit Union for sponsoring the 2026 PA Cup and HU Esports Day. Thank you to Corsair for providing all competing PA Cup players with a Corsair Sabre V2 Pro Ultralight Wireless Gaming Mouse, and Zenni Gaming for supplying Year of the Horse swag bags with blue-light-blocking glasses for all attendees.
Additionally, the event would not have been possible without Strictly Catering, who provided lunch for the event. A final special recognition to Spectrum Industries for raffling off their Esports Genova Chair and to Urban Air Adventure Park for providing the winning teams with jump passes and t-shirts.
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ABOUT HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) is an independent, nonprofit university offering degrees in advanced manufacturing, engineering, robotics, nursing, cybersecurity, and other critical fields. Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, HU serves a diverse student body through bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs that link learning and research with practical applications. For information about HU’s affordable STEM degrees and professional development programs, call 717.901.5146 or email Connect@HarrisburgU.edu. Stay in the know by following Harrisburg University on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
MEDIA CONTACT
Do you have questions about this story? Interested in lining up an interview? Please contact Dan Wilhelm, Communications Manager for Harrisburg University, at DWilhelm@HarrisburgU.edu or 717.901.5100×1724.
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