esports gaming

Growing eSports niche explores big data and gaming behaviors


Courses offer insight from game developers, design engineers

University of Nevada, Las Vegas students will be able to explore the eSports phenomena in today’s popular culture through an innovative new fall course from the International Gaming Institute (IGI).

In the eSports Lab, students will explore multiple facets of eSports and produce presentations and business plans relevant to the casino industry. They will learn about the games and genres, synthesize information, and explore opportunities in big data related to gamer and fan behaviors in order to develop strategies for effectively targeting Millennials.

They will work to solve problems that exist in the field, such as how to effectively design competitive events and improve eSports experience models. They will also be expected to apply new and relevant technologies within the specialty as well as develop intellectual property and other innovations related to the overall gaming experience.

“eSports is the hottest topic in every board room on the Strip, particularly with respect to Millennials,” said Robert Rippee, director of the Hospitality Lab and eSports Lab. “What better place to begin the journey to understand its relevance and application to the casino and hospitality industry than right here at UNLV?”

The course will feature guest speakers including game developers, tournament management companies, platform developers, design engineers and architects, compliance and regulatory experts, competition design professionals, and gaming executives. Students will also attend and participate in eSports events.

(Next page: The eSports trend expands across universities)

The eSports Lab is the first of its kind at UNLV and represents an evolution of and complement to the university’s current casino gaming innovation courses, Special Topics in Gaming Operations – Gaming Innovation (GAM 495) and Special Topics in Hospitality Innovation (HMD 455/HOA 555). For more information, email hospitalitylab@unlv.edu.

This is the latest development in a growing eSports market at universities.

Most commonly, eSports take the form of organized multiplayer video game competitions. Live-streaming of such matches draws millions of viewers worldwide. Consisting of a variety of competitive online gaming platforms, eSports match up teams of competitors representing their institutions in online competition.

In the spring, the University of California Irvine (UCI) announced it would launch an official eSports and gaming initiative this fall.

A state-of-the-art arena equipped with high-end gaming PCs, a stage for League of Legends competitions and a live webcasting studio will be constructed at the Student Center, and as many as 10 academic scholarships will be offered to students on the team.

Los Angeles-based Riot Games – the studio behind League of Legends – has pledged its support for the eSports initiative and will work with UCI to offer a premium League of Legends gaming experience.

“The UCI community is one of over 300 student-run gaming clubs we currently support,” said Ramon Hermann, head of the collegiate program at Riot Games. “We’re honored to work with UCI to create a permanent home for gamers on campus and hope this will inspire similar programs at colleges and universities across North America.”

“UCI eSports will be built on four pillars: competition, academics, entertainment and community,” said Thomas Parham, vice chancellor for student affairs. “We hope to attract the best gamers from around the world, and our academic programs in computer gaming science, digital arts, computer science, engineering, anthropology, law, medicine, neuroscience and behavior create a strong foundation for research and inquiry related to gaming.”

In addition, UCI’s Institute for Virtual Environments & Computer Games facilitates multidisciplinary research projects in the fields of anthropology, art, computer science, engineering, history, medicine, psychology, science and technology.

In 2015, Maryville University announced the addition of eSports to its growing line-up of club sport programs. In recognition of the popularity of eSports and to provide greater academic access, Maryville started offering scholarship opportunities for eligible students.

Known more popularly as competitive online video gaming, the world of online sport is new to Maryville, but not to the program’s first coordinator and coach, Daniel Clerke, an international business student. Clerke is also owner of several successful eSport teams, including Enemy, a professional tier League of Legends team.

Maryville’s club program will field teams in a number of different online games.

“I’m really excited to get this going and bring Maryville to the forefront of collegiate eSports,” Clerke said when the program launched. “ESports is the biggest thing that nobody knows about. To put it in perspective, the League of Legends World Championship last year was viewed by more people than every sporting event except the Superbowl, and that includes the World Cup.”

Marcus Manning, director of athletics, says the newest club sport program is a nod to the popularity of virtual gaming worldwide. “As with any new sport Maryville adds to our club roster, our primary goal is to create opportunities for students to tap into their particular interest,” he said.

Midland University also launched an eSports program this fall.

“At Midland, we enable students to pursue their passions in community. The emerging generation of students is heavily invested in online pursuits, and it’s our desire to see them learning and competing in a collaborative environment,” said Midland University President Jody Horner when the initiative was announced in the spring. “Whether they are participating in traditional athletics, the performing arts, or emerging eSports, we find that students who are highly engaged in extracurricular activities are more successful academically.

“By offering scholarships in eSports, we believe we will attract skilled competitors while expanding access to high quality education for a new generation of students,” said Horner. “As employers increasingly seek graduates with technology-driven skill sets, providing students with these interests the opportunity to advance their education is becoming essential to our community.”

Online searches reveal eSports clubs at Arizona State University, Harvard, Florida International University, and Clemson University.

Material from a press release was used in this report.

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