ARNOLD, MD – Anne Arundel Community College Director of Athletics Duane Herr has announced the hiring of Conway Johnson to lead the newly-formed esports varsity program for the Riverhawks. Johnson, a 2015 graduate of AACC, founded the College's esports club and has overseen its operations for six years.
"Conway brings extensive experience and connections that will foster a thriving varsity esports program at AACC," said Herr. "They have been a tremendous advocate for the College's esports club and graciously offered their expertise in the development of the varsity esports program. We are excited to have them on board as the first varsity esports coach at AACC."
Johnson is a prominent local esports expert with a wide scope of industry know-how. Their experience encompasses every corner of the esports world, ranging from tournament organization to coaching, competing, and community building.
"Becoming the first varsity esports coach at AACC feels a little unreal," said Johnson. "I always wanted to be a part of an AACC varsity esports program ever since starting the esports club so many years ago, but I never imagined I'd be the head coach."
"I'm ecstatic to have the opportunity and I'll be putting in 100% to make varsity esports at AACC the best it can be," they added. "If you're an AACC student interested in competing, or in anything esports-related, I'd love to hear from you."
As adviser of the AACC esports club, Johnson grew the club from 15 members in its founding year to 62 in 2020-21. They oversaw Discord organization, gaming event broadcasting, including the club's biannual Extra Life charity streams. They were responsible for tournament organization while managing and coaching the Smash Ultimate and Heroes of the Storm teams.
Johnson most recently worked with Game Gym as a Smash Ultimate and Overwatch coach and also served on the broadcast production team for the Mid-Atlantic Esports Conference (MAEC) and the District Esports League.
Among the MD/VA Smash Ultimate community, Johnson is a well-known presence, as they have worked in areas including tournament organization and planning, broadcasting, commentating, and as an independent coach since 2019.
Johnson has worked with MAGFest since 2014 and currently works with the stream team and broadcast operations crew. MAGFest is an annual festival held in the Washington metropolitan area celebrating video games and surrounding culture. The 2019 festival brought more than 22,000 video game enthusiasts to National Harbor.
Johnson got their start in console arcade operations, tournament organizing, and community building with Press Play Entertainment/VGU of Annapolis from 2013-14.
AACC plans to begin varsity competition in the Spring of 2022 and will compete as part of the NJCAAE and the MAEC. Those interested in becoming a member of the Riverhawks' varsity esports team are encouraged to complete a prospective student-athlete form and attend the AACC Esports Lab open house Tuesday, November 16 from 11 am to 2 pm, and Wednesday, November 17 from 5 to 8 pm. The Esports Lab is located in CALT 215.