Joey Gawrysiak

Joey Gawrysiak (he/him/his) joins the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in Fall 2023 as the executive director of esports and as an associate professor. He will teach classes in esports.

Prior to joining Syracuse University, Gawrysiak was a professor and director of esports at Shenandoah University from 2011-2023, overseeing all aspects of esports on campus and teaching a variety of classes in esports and sport management. Prior to Shenandoah University, he served as a teaching assistant at the University of Georgia from 2010-2012 teaching sport management courses.

Gawrysiak’s research focuses on the integration of esports into institutions of higher education and scholastic esports. He has contributed edited chapters in books, including “E-sport: Video Games as Sport,” which appeared in Defining Sport: Conceptions and Borderlines.

In 2019, Gawrysiak co-founded Esports Development and Growth Enterprise (EDGE) with two partners to consult professional and academic entities on a variety of esports implementation strategies. He served as the chair of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and as a member of the Board of Advisors for the North American Scholastic Esports Federation and the Mid-Atlantic Esports Conference, while also being named the NACE Program Director of the Year in 2021 and NACE Hero in 2022.

In addition, under his leadership, the Shenandoah esports program won the 2023 CSMG award for Esports Program Impact of the Year and the 2023 NACE National Event of the Year for their “Boost on the Beach” event in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Gawrysiak earned a Ph.D. in 2012, an M.Ed. in 2007, and a B.S.Ed. in 2006, all from the University of Georgia.