The esports arena at Miami University doesn’t echo with the screams of cheering fans. Instead, the small computer lab-like room only resounds with vigorous clicks, occasionally interrupted by strategizing shouts.
Despite the lack of fanfare, it’s home to a nationally recognized team: Miami University is one of many Ohio colleges that have invested in building an esports program.
The first varsity college esports team was formed a decade ago. Since then, at least 40 higher ed institutions have formed competitive video gaming programs in Ohio. Miami University was the first Division I school to join the fray, said assistant director James Davis.
“This was an area in which we could be on the cutting edge,” Davis said.
Davis said the team started seven years ago, when the university realized it could be a recruitment tool.
The university has done pretty well: they took home a national title their first year and twice since, they’ve topped state competitions. Students compete in games like Overwatch, Valorant, Rocket and League of Legends.
“Something like 30 to 40 students every year come to Miami because of the reputation of the esports program – which is something,” Davis said.
The growth in gaming
At first, esports only took hold at small private universities. Lourdes University in Sylviana was one of the first ten in the country to adopt the athletic offering.
But soon, Davis said the interest in video game competition became hard to ignore. Esports is a billion dollar industry, and, on the professional level, large tournaments boast more viewers than the Super Bowl.
So, large public universities, like Ohio State, University of Cincinnati and Ohio University entered the game.
“It's now we're at a point where [the question is]: Why don't you have an esports program?” said Jeff Kuhn, who leads the esports program at Ohio University.
Kuhn said competitive gaming has helped the university engage with a demographic that would otherwise be cooped up in a dorm room.
“More students are playing games. And they wanted this to happen,” Kuhn said. “It's been very bottom up, driven by students. … And I think the fact that universities are responding to that is really important.”
It’s so popular that it’s influencing their curriculum. You can get an esports certificate at Ohio University. Go to graduate school for Esports Management at Miami. And if you’re good enough – get some cash to do it. University of Akron offers up to 2,500 dollars in esports scholarships.
Even so, Kuhn said esports still feels a little bit like the Wild West. With new editions of video games coming out each year, he said regulation is difficult.
“Nobody owns basketball. Nobody owns football,” Kuhn said. “But all the games we play are intellectual property of a company, and so they sort of have two competing interests.”
Plus, it’s not all codified by one organization like the NCAA. Instead, Kuhn said it’s a patchwork of different leagues and associations. That fragmentation can be confusing, but it also offers higher ed institutions flexibility.
“It gives us an opportunity to play locally, sort of the regionality of your typical athletic conferences. But then also we can also play nationally and play against the top-tier teams all around the country,” Kuhn said.
A level playing field
Despite a lack of regulation, esports programs are fairly easy to start-up. You don’t have to sink a lot of funds to get going, which means small, cash-strapped rural colleges can also compete.
Big Ten schools still vie against one another in the Big Esports Conference. (The OSU-Michigan rivalry has even carried over to video games.) But also, small schools like Shawnee State University in Portsmouth take on colleges more than triple their size – and win.
For Washington State College of Ohio in Marietta, it’s the first of their athletic offerings. Esports became their first sport last semester. Coach Mark Riley said he hopes the new program can extend their reach – and make higher education more appealing to those on the fence.
“[We’re] hoping that you know a lot of students will kind of think, ‘Hey, I never really thought about college. Maybe I'll do this. Maybe I'll take this route,’” Riley said.
The team is pretty small right now, just a group of 10 or so students. But as other Ohio teams have shown, it only takes a few years to build a team that can compete on the national stage, attracting students and creating community in the process.
