HBCU Gamer Makes Esports History

The landscape and opportunity for young people to compete in various sports has changed significantly over the course of the last decade, and perhaps no phenomenon has brought more kids to the arena of competition than esports.

While esports aren’t viewed in the same way as traditional sports like basketball, football or baseball, they’ve captured the attention and respect of fans domestically and globally.

Recently, an HBCU student made history with his performance at a high-profile esports competition.

Coby Robinson is a computer science major by day at Southern University and A&M College, but is an elite gamer when he’s not in the classroom.

Robinson’s stellar performance helped Southern University win the 2026 ECAC EA Sports College Football National Championship, which marked the first time that an HBCU took home the crown.

Southern University Computer Science Major Coby Robinson Wins National Esports Title, Marking A First For An HBCU https://t.co/sjJufEGizd

— AfroTech (@AfroTech) April 29, 2026

The sophomore was locked into a tense best-of-five series against Bellarmine University, and was prolific enough to win the deciding game 38-29 to make history.

Robinson’s rise to prominence started from the ground up. Unlike a lot of gamers at other universities, he wasn’t bolstered by a scholarship or lucrative NIL deal. Despite the circumstances, Robinson remained dedicated to his craft and knew what it would take to get to this point.

“Same way a football player does film study on a different team, you got to film study in esports,” Robinson said. “It’s all about practicing and putting time in to work.”

While Robinson and his peers may not be considered athletes by many, Robinson did rub elbows with an NFL player who helped him along the way.

The Southern University and A&M student spent time with former professional running back Ahman Green, who helped Robinson read defenses.

“All right, somebody lines up like this—this could be this,” Robinson said Green would tell him. “The same way it’s on the game, the same way it’d be in real life. So it all correlates.”

Team head coach Christopher Turner believes that Robinson and other star esports players deserve some sort of recognition like other athletes do.

“They’re actually playing because they love to play. But if they’re going to represent the university and do it in the way that Coby is doing it, he deserves some kind of scholarship and some kind of NIL,” Turner said.

In the gaming world, Robinson might be best known by his gaming alias, “K1NGCOBY”. He’s proud of his accomplishments in this area.

“I feel great, happy, and accomplished because this has been a dream of mine,” Robinson told Louisiana Weekly. “To see myself continuing to dominate and make history shows that I belong and that my dream is within reach.”

It will be interesting to see how the program advances from this point forward, both from a funding and a profile standpoint. It will also be intriguing to see if other HBCU’s double down on esports given the success Southern has had.

https://t.co/gpFpIiZ0KS pic.twitter.com/etrpGvIPvK

— HBCU Esports (@hbcuesportsgg) February 19, 2024

It feels like the sky might be the limit for Robinson, who still has multiple years of eligibility to add to his already impressive resume.