MSU repeats Smash crown

Michigan State’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team won the 2026 Power Esports Conference title, giving the Spartans a second straight conference crown in the game. (challonge.com) The win followed Michigan State’s 2025 Power Esports Conference Smash title, which league expansion announcements from Kansas and Syracuse both listed among the conference’s reigning championships. (esports.ku.edu) (esports.syracuse.edu) Power Esports Conference play began in the 2024-25 academic year after Michigan State, Boise State and Syracuse helped launch the league around four games: Valorant, Overwatch 2, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. (comartsci.msu.edu) Michigan State entered that new league with an established Smash program. In April 2024, the Spartans won the inaugural Big Esports Conference Smash championship by beating Michigan in the semifinal and Purdue in the final. (comartsci.msu.edu) The repeat adds to a fast rise for a varsity program that Michigan State says launched in fall 2023 and now competes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Rocket League and Valorant. The university says its broader esports ecosystem engages more than 2,000 Spartans a year. (staypluggedin.com) (comartsci.msu.edu) Michigan State’s Smash depth has also shown up outside team brackets. WKAR reported on April 6 that Spartan player Dyson Mingo had reached the top North American Falco ranking in Super Smash Bros. Melee, a different Smash title with its own competitive circuit. (wkar.org) The Power Esports Conference has grown since launch. Kansas said in September 2025 that Baylor, Minnesota and Utah were joining for the 2025-26 season, expanding the field around Michigan State’s title defense. (esports.ku.edu) That leaves Michigan State with conference trophies in two different collegiate esports leagues in just over two years: the Big Esports Conference in 2024, then Power Esports Conference Smash titles in 2025 and 2026. (comartsci.msu.edu) (challonge.com)