Maryville University closes Overwatch 2 esports division

Maryville University has announced that it will be sunsetting its collegiate Overwatch 2 team after eight years of competitive activity.

A statement was published online addressed the reasons behind this, highlighting uncertainty in the Overwatch Collegiate Championships (OWCC), and ‘remaining flexible’ for new games with potential esports scenes.

In the statement online, Daniel Clerke, Director of Esports at Maryville University, said: “We want to be clear: this is not a budget cut. It is a strategic decision that we’ve come to internally over the past couple of years.

“Each season brings new uncertainty to the collegiate Overwatch landscape. In recent years, there has been a lack of clarity around the start of the OWCC spring season; this year, it was cancelled entirely.”

The statement also went on to share how it’s current roster was set to graduate two years from the time of posting. It pledged to honour any ongoing scholarships and support players wishing to transfer to other universities.

With it’s departure from Overwatch, question were raised by users online about the potential to enter other games such as Deadlock, Marvel Rivals, and more.

“No current plans for Rivals,’ Maryville University wrote online. “It depends on publisher support and other things. With games like Deadlock, Rematch, and unannounced titles on the horizon, we want to be flexible to make the right choice. If we commit to a game, we are committing to students for four years and want time to evaluate the landscape.”

Maryville University did share that it was not gone from Overwatch for good, commenting online that “there is potential” to return to the game in the future.

Maryville University last played in the OWCC series 2024 playoffs, where it came second after losing 2-4 to Illinois State University. In 2023, it came third in the OWCC Homecoming 2023 playoffs, and placed first in OWCC series 2022.