eSport Coaches

---

Coach Cody Holt

Coach Cody Holt M.Ed, one of the eSports coaches, is an instructor of Computer Graphics Technology and Computer Aided Drafting and Design for the University of Arkansas: Fort Smith. Born in the Black Hills of South Dakota, raised in NW Arkansas, he earned his BS in Animation Technology from the University of Arkansas: Fort Smith and his MA in Adult and Lifelong Learning from UA: Fayetteville. His work primarily focusing on Video game Development, Movie Production, Special Effects, Drafting, Engineering, and Architecture while his love and background of gaming led him to his preparation to be a coach for eSports. And once he shattered a TV screen playing Silent Hill 2 out of shock and fear.

Dr. Nicki Stancil

Dr. Nicki Stancil, one of the eSports coaches, is an Associate Professor, Program Director of Media Communication, and the 2021 Lucille Speakman Master Teacher Award recipient. Originally a first-generation student from Ohio, she earned her BA in Communication Studies (emphasizing Journalism) from the University of Toledo, her MA in Communication Studies from Kent State University, and her PhD in American Culture Studies (emphasizing Critical Film and Media) and a graduate certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies from Bowling Green State University. Her doctoral work focused on video games and online gaming spaces – such as gaming forums, subreddits, etc. She’s mainly a console gamer who loves a deep, immersive story and is known to cry when characters die. And one time when her horse got hit by a train in Red Dead 2.