Leading gaming accessories maker Turtle Beach Corporation (Nasdaq: HEAR) and Northern Illinois University Esports are proud to announce a new partnership supporting collegiate esports at NIU. As part of the partnership, Turtle Beach is providing scholarships for student athletes who demonstrate outstanding leadership and will be outfitting NIU Esports teams and the NIU Esports Arena with a variety of performance-driven PC gaming peripherals.
“Turtle Beach and NIU share guiding principles of positive and healthy gaming, and this program will recognize and reward those NIU Esports students who show they can lead as well as they game,” said Terry Jimenez, chairman of Turtle Beach’s board of directors. “As a NIU alum and Adjunct Professor, I’m excited to merge two passions by having Turtle Beach join forces with NIU’s top esports program.”
“Partnering with Turtle Beach is a wonderful opportunity for our student gamers attending NIU,” says Rena Cotsones, Ph.D., NIU Vice President of Outreach, Engagement, and Regional Development. “NIU Esports and Turtle Beach share a deep commitment to building community and promoting healthy and safe gaming practices. Their scholarships will help promote continued leadership and sportsmanship within our teams.”
NIU’s Esports Arena, located in Altgeld Hall, opened in 2022 and has welcomed more than 2,000 high school and college students since that time. The Turtle Beach Leadership Awards are $2,500 scholarships to be awarded to two NIU Esports varsity athletes each year. The scholarship recipients will be the athletes who go above and beyond to support their teammates and demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship, both in and out of the game.
In addition to the Turtle Beach Leadership Awards scholarships, Turtle Beach is providing 65 full PC gaming peripheral setups for the NIU Esports Arena. These setups consist of select, award-winning and top-rated PC gaming peripherals which will be augmented and updated over time as newer, faster products are inevitably introduced.
“The equipment Turtle Beach is providing for the NIU Esports Arena will create a more consistent, responsive gameplay experience during open play, varsity matches, and special events,” says Conner Vagle, NIU Esports director. “Moving forward, thousands more casual and competitive players visiting the arena each year will benefit from us having the latest top-performing PC gaming gear from Turtle Beach.”
“NIU Esports players now have some of the fastest, most responsive and top-rated PC gaming peripherals at their disposal,” said Cris Keirn, CEO, Turtle Beach Corporation. We’re looking forward to NIU Esports players combining their best performances with our premium gaming gear.”
NIU’s new PC gaming equipment includes Turtle Beach’s ultra-responsive and highly customizable and programmable Vulcan II TKL Pro keyboards, the ultra-lightweight Burst™ II Air mice along with Sense™ Core Mini mousepads, and esports-ready Elite Pro™ 2 headsets. Turtle Beach is also providing 10 premium, award-winning Atlas Air™ headsets. The Atlas Air is the first wireless open back PC gaming headset featuring high-fidelity 24-bit audio and is also celebrated for its lightweight comfort, high-bandwidth 16kHz microphone, and 50-hour battery life, all of which are ideal for content creation such as narrating streaming gameplay.
Learn more at niu.edu/esports.