With the rising popularity and lucrative opportunities that e-Sports has been gaining in the last several years, more and more colleges and universities are forming their own e-Sports teams. It makes sense that with prize pools reaching into the millions of dollars, being broadcast on mainstream TV channels and of course the millions of people watching online, schools would want to jump in on the e-Sports train to promote and recruit new students to their attend their campuses. This is very true for St. Mary’s University.
St. Mary’s University, located in San Antonio Texas, announced that they will be launching a eSports program this fall, the first university in San Antonio to sponsor a varsity eSports team. This makes their eSports team the twelfth intercollegiate sport in the school. Director of Athletics Robert Coleman had this to say:
“This is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, so we are extremely excited about beginning a new eSports program at St. Mary’s. Students will now be able to pursue their passion for gaming — a natural fit with the interests of our current and prospective students.”
The team will be housed in a newly created arena in the middle of the campus, which happens to be the University Center. The university is renovating the second story of the UC to have amphitheater-style seating. In addition to being the team’s home, it will also provide opportunities for students to participate in competitive gaming through the intramurals program or to convene for casual gaming. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony for the arena sometime this Spring 2020.
As for which organizations the school will be joining, the school will be joining the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and Tespa. In these organizations, students-athletes will compete with other schools online in games such as Rocket League, League of Legends, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Overwatch and many more.
I’m glad to see more and more colleges and universities not only embracing eSports, but also recognizing it as a sport. Even more so that one of those schools leading the charge is in my hometown. Hopefully this trend can continue and eventually other schools in the area will follow suit.
