An esports tournament that spanned the majority of a state university system went a long way in helping students feel like a part of the community--even while remote

How esports brings students together during social isolation


An esports tournament that spanned the majority of a state university system went a long way in helping students feel like a part of the community--even while remote

Being a traditional athletic director, I have been told many times that I should be offended by esports, particularly the use of “sports” in its name. Competitors don’t jump (unless out of their seats), run, or use a ball. Certainly, all of that should be an affront to my natural proclivity toward the more traditional physically-taxing competitions like football, soccer, or lacrosse.

But esports offers nearly all the same rewarding traits – engagement, commitment, teamwork, leadership opportunities, dedication, sportsmanship – as traditional athletics.

Related content: What you need to start an esports program

At the college where I work – SUNY Canton – esports has been incredibly successful. In addition to great participation, we’ve diversified our student activities while supporting academic programs typically populated by esports students, such as game design, graphic and multimedia design, engineering, and esports management.

So when the SUNY Chancellor requested we organize a system-wide esports tournament amid the early stages of the COVID–19 outbreak, my college’s esports coordinator said, “Gamers have been preparing for this our whole lives.” Even though every other type of collegiate competition had been cancelled, including the NCAA winter and spring sports national championships at every level, we decided to move forward.

Within two weeks of announcing the tournament, 46 of the 64 State University of New York colleges and universities had signed up to compete. We had more than $20,000 lined up in prizes and nearly 500 students bursting with enthusiasm to play in the tournament.

Instead of simply featuring one game in the tournament, we ran three: “Super Smash Bros Ultimate” by Nintendo, “Rocket League” by Psyonix, and “Fortnite” by Epic Games. It’s the equivalent of choosing to host three different sports championships instead of just one.

SUNY had just enough time to reach out to one sponsor, and Extreme Networks was our top choice. Extreme helped build the esports program at SUNY Canton, the first SUNY college to offer varsity esports in 2018, and has been a long-time technology partner to our school.

Extreme provided SUNY with a $10,000 donation toward the #SUNYTogether fundraising campaign supporting COVID-19 student relief efforts. The donation matched that of former SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson, who was the mastermind and catalyst for the tournament. Additionally, Extreme assisted in promotion and coordination of the tournament.

Before the SUNY Chancellor Esports Challenge began, we ran into an unexpected challenge. About a week into the registration process, SUNY Canton Esports Coordinator Charlie Murray informed SUNY staff that numerous colleges were all experiencing a similar problem – there was too much demand from students who wanted to participate in the tournament. How were schools supposed to narrow down their rosters to just two teams per game? SUNY school officials were inundated with calls and ultimately had to turn some students away. It’s a tournament director’s best problem.

In the end, the biggest beneficiaries were those who received the COVID-19 student emergency relief funds for the winning schools:
• Binghamton University finished in first place overall, with first and second-place finishes in Super Smash Bros Ultimate and a second-place finish in Rocket League, helping to propel them to a total of $9,000 to the school’s relief fund.
• The University at Albany placed first in Fortnite and third in Rocket League to win $5,000 in donations.
• SUNY Oneonta finished third overall, securing $4,000 in donations.
• SUNY Geneseo, SUNY New Paltz, and SUNY Canton were also awarded prize money based on top finishes.

During this time of isolation and social distancing, this esports tournament created a much-needed sense of belonging for students and staff. The comradery with the other SUNY schools, tournament participants, and organizers was extraordinarily rewarding. It’s also been surprising to hear from so many schools that have committed to organizing an esports program because of their participation in this tournament. Numerous schools are now forming clubs and varsity teams. We anticipate at least 8 to 10 new SUNY esports teams will start within the next year.

Esports may not be what most think of as a traditional “sport.” But there’s no doubt that it’s growing in popularity in the university system – and it’s easy to see why.

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