Esports varsity team coming to ETSU

ETSU students interested in online gaming can try out for ETSU’s new esports team beginning in January 2020.

On Dec. 6, ETSU announced that a varsity esports team will be formed in the upcoming semester, which will compete in League of Legends and Overwatch. Esports are organized by the National Association of Collegiate Esports.

“This was an idea that our students, our staff and our faculty brought to the administration,” ETSU President Brian Noland said. “And I want to thank our students for their vision, for their leadership and for their work as they make this possible.”

Esports are online video game competitions. While a gaming community already exists on campus, students will try out for a spot on the esports team. In order to try out, students must have a minimum 2.5 GPA and be on track to graduate. Two teams of six players will compete in Overwatch, and two teams of five players will take on League of Legends.

Students selected will be eligible for scholarships through the esports team.

ETSU junior and psychology major Zachary Branham said he thinks the esports team will be very popular on campus.

“I think that once it’s known across campus that there will be an esports team, there are going to be a lot of people wanting to join it,” he said. “Once the word gets out, it’s going to be really good.”

Branham and other students demonstrated esports by playing games after the official press conference on Friday to announce the new team.

Karen King, senior vice provost for Information Technology Services, helped bring the esports team to ETSU. She thanked the Clemmer College, ITS, Student Life and Enrollment, ETSU Facilities, the Center for Global Sport Leadership and the Digital Media program for their collaborative efforts to bring the new opportunity to campus.

As part of the announcement on Friday, ETSU revealed the renovated Culp Center will feature an esports arena. The space is set to include a 32-foot video wall to livestream esports events.

ETSU junior and biology major Amanda Greenberg said she’s excited for the new arena because it will bring students closer to “more modern sports.” Natalie Smith, program coordinator of the master’s sport management in the Clemmer College, also said the arena and esports team will expand opportunities for ETSU students.

“This new arena is something that’s unique to campuses across the United States, so it will allow us to host major events and potentially stream across the world, providing more exposure for ETSU but also experiences that our students don’t often get in a rural region like Johnson City,” she said.

Additionally, ETSU is working toward the establishment of an esports management graduate certificate program, which the Clemmer College’s Department of Sport, Exercise, Recreation, and Kinesiology will offer. The program is set to open by fall 2020.

This announcement came after ETSU hosted the first annual Buccaneer Brawl Super Smash Bros Tournament in September, which brought more than 400 gamers to the Millennium Center to compete.