CHESTER, Pa. – Widener University Director of Athletics Jack Shafer announced the addition of Phil Cermignano as Widener Esports head coach.
 
"We're very happy to have Phil on board as our new head coach," said Shafer. "Having been a part of the program as a player and former assistant coach will bring an advantage to his position and to our student-athletes. With his background and skillset focused on the student-athlete success in and out of the classroom, we know the competitive experience will be the highest quality and our teams will continue to perform well in their competitions."
 
Cermignano returns to the Pride after a year and a half stint as an assistant Esports coach from January 2022 to May 2023. While an assistant, Cermignano was directly involved in the development of skills and talents of Widener's Esports program. He designed and presented analytic data for the improvement of the team's skills and weaknesses and broadcasted the team's competitive matches and tournaments to their online streaming platforms.
 
Currently Cermignano competes against highly rated professional and collegiate teams on an independent Valorant team. Beginning in April of 2022 he organized and developed weekly team meetings, practices, and tournaments as a team captain. In the game he led the team though strategies to provide the best leadership for each situation.
 
Prior to joining the coaching staff, Cermignano competed from August 2019 to May 2021 of his undergraduate years as one of the Pride's Esports team captains. Throughout the three years, he served as the Valorant Team Captain and was a primary starter for the Overwatch team. Outside of Esports Cermignano participated in team and community events for the program.
 
"I'm extremely happy to be apart of the Pride," Cermignano said. "I'm looking forward to making a change here at Widener and to bring more recognition to the Esports program throughout our community."
 
Cermignano earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from Widener University in 2021.