Against more than 1,000 teams from across the country, Anderson University won the national championship following a remarkable performance at the National Cyber League (NCL) Team Competition last weekend.
Anderson University was among the more than 500 colleges and universities to compete in the 56-hour event. During the last team challenge, AU’s Cyber League team achieved a perfect score and perfect accuracy to claim the national title.
The NCL Team Competition is a biannual cybersecurity competition designed for college students across the United States. It is one of the most recognized competitions in the field of cybersecurity education.
To put it another way, think of the NCL as the Olympics for cybersecurity students. Teams compete by solving digital puzzles and defending against simulated virtual threats.
Dr. Brandon P. Grech, director of the Anderson University Center for Cybersecurity and cybersecurity competition coach, emphasized the collaborative effort behind the team’s success.
“We are extremely proud of our cybersecurity students,” Grech said. “They have been persistent and intentional in their personal, professional, and spiritual growth at Anderson. They are surrounded by people who have invested deeply in their development, including the Office of Christian Life, the Honors College, the Department of Mathematics, the College of Business and Economics, and the IT Department, among many others across the Anderson University family. This achievement reflects the collective team effort of students, faculty, and staff across AU.”
The Anderson University Center for Cybersecurity in 2020 became one of the first private higher education academic programs for cybersecurity in South Carolina. It offers degree programs in cybersecurity; cybersecurity and analytics; cybersecurity and criminal justice; and cybersecurity and mathematics.
Since then, AU’s Cyber League team has made its mark in national competitions and is currently the No. 5 cybersecurity program in the country, according to the National Cyber League Power Rankings. It has been a fixture in the national rankings since the program began in 2020. The University now awaits the release of updated rankings in the coming months.
The national champion Anderson University Cyber League team included: Aaron McCurry; Camden Sloan; Joshua Cordeiro; Kyle Beauregard; Charlie Paddock; Zachary Lee; and Noah Perricelli.