If you enjoy playing video games – you are a hobbyist.
If you enter competitions – you are a gamer.
If you like to watch others play – you are a fan.
Together, all three make up esports, one of the fastest growing industries in the world - playing games such as Counter Strike, League of Legends, Overwatch and HearthStone Heroes of Warcraft. Universities are catching on to the subculture - offering students varsity esports programs with practice facilities, tournaments and even scholarships.
“You have to meet students where they are, and they are gaming,” said Steve Toepfer, Ph.D., associate professor of human development and family studies at ֹ Salem. “This is the new pastime. This is what they do. Students like to play video games, casually and competitively.”
There are approximately 70 collegiate esports programs around the county. More than half developed just in the past year, and ֹ is no exception. The Kent Campus alone has 16 student egaming clubs. The Salem Campus offers scholarships. The Tuscarawas Campus has created a strong team, while the Stark and East Liverpool Campuses are growing.
“This is happening all around ֹ’s eight-campus system on the regional campuses,” said Nathan Ritchey, Ph.D., vice president for ֹ System Integration. “We think that esports aligns perfectly with our One University mission and exemplifies our commitment to creating an inclusive environment.”
In its first effort to gauge interest, ֹ will launch an esports tournament on May 5th on the Kent Campus in the Memorial Athletic & Convocation Center (MAC Center) at noon. ֹ students from all campuses and students from area high schools will compete for scholarships and other prizes. Students are invited to join with friends to sign up for the team-game Overwatch, or go head-to-head in the two-player virtual card game Hearthstone, as well as join Kent’s multitude of student organizations playing console games and others. Organizers have also planned some informational sessions around other popular games in the space like League of Legends and Fortnite which may have game times too long for a casual tournament or have uncertain interest level from the student body.
“Worldwide, 27 million people play League of Legends every day, and 2.7 mill are high school seniors,” Toepfer said. “If the top 3 percent of those can get into ֹ, then 81,000 students might make ֹ their first choice.”
In addition to attracting students from around the nation to the university, organizers say growing an espor