Since the early years of mainstream gaming, it was believed to be a waste of time, however, such is no longer the case; now there are multiple opportunities for dedicated gamers to play their specific games and make money while competing against other gamers. Colleges have set up collegiate teams to compete in this lucrative and rapidly growing phenomenon known as eSports. Players in this industry do not have a direct path to the professional scene of eSports like in the traditional sports and most professionals would not even consider attending a college after they have made it. Even if they did consider it they would wait until after their career has ended and even then, they would attend an online school or a two-year school if that. The University of South Carolina should see this growing trend and adopt a system to allow players to come to college and compete against teams in a controlled environment, like the other athletes on the collegiate level; it would benefit the university to get into the industry while it is still young and without a whole lot of regulations so it could forge its own path toward the top. 

Growing up, gamers were told to stop wasting their time with gaming and go outside, make some friends, focus on your work, etc. Later in life those who still game are seen as lazy and looked down upon for not spending their time on things that others see as more productive. Per a Pew Research Center Survey 26% of adults believe that most video games are a waste of time and 33% believe that some games are a waste of time and others are not, while 24% believe that most games are not a waste of time and the last 16% are unsure on the topic. This is a survey on a group of adults and their perception of video games; what most of the 59% of people who thought some if not all games were a waste of time may not have known is that according to the 2016 Global eSports Market Report by Newzoo the revenue of eSports industry will reach up around $1.1 billion in 2019 alone (Global Esports Market Report: Revenues to Jump to $463M in 2016 as US Leads the Way). If these adults knew the scene of eSports and the money that can be brought in through competing the perception of gaming will change. Then, just how traditional sports are seen, great past-times for children that can lead to better things, so will the gaming industry. This will change because most of the games that offer a professional scene are team multiplayer games, such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or League of Legends, both games consisting of teams of five. Also, the adults mentioned in the survey above will be more willing to allow their smaller children to play videogames for a team than go out for the football team where they could potentially get seriously injured, so instead of being a waste of time; these video games will be a way to get involved in school and a community, containing all the opportunities to develop relationships that are present in the traditional sports without the physical limitations. If the University of South Carolina should adopt an eSports team, it will allow kids who have been seen as wasting their time with an unhealthy lifestyle, but simply do not have the ability to play traditional sports, and whether they are just not tall enough or strong enough or fast enough or some other ailment, to still get involved and have the chance to be a part of something much bigger than themselves, while also having the ability to go to college and be granted scholarships through competing for the university in their respective games. These opportunities will sway the public opinion on gaming. No longer will the gamer be seen as the outcast with hard work and dedication anyone with fingers can be the next star athlete.

Players of each specific game, such as League of Legends or Counter Strike: Global Offensive, spend years and countless hours through sleepless nights honing their craft whether that be cross-map sniping with an AWP on Dust II in CS: GO or a hunting specific “buffs” in the Jungle of the Rift in LoL. This can develop a very irregular sleep schedule that can be detrimental to the health of the athletes while also fostering an obsession with the game and devoting all free time to the game of their choice. What should be introduced for these players is the chance to go to college to better their education while also competing for the college that will maintain a regulated practice time in the hopes to help manage the gamers time. So, they do not spend their nights just playing these games. This opportunity will allow gamers the ability to have a joint practice time that the whole team abides by, getting rid of the obsession and giving these gamers free time. While also giving them the responsibility of school in order to stay on the team and maintain their scholarships. These will hopefully develop into habits that can be carried throughout their career. Also, it will give the opportunity for those who would not originally go to college or for those at college to get involved in a new up and coming sport that with enough practice and dedication there is potential to have a great payout. In eSports, unlike many traditional sports, there is no physical obstacle to overcome. In the eSports industry, there are all different types of bodies and the only real differentiator is the willingness to work and the drive to compete. 

Through offering gamers, a program in which they can compete and make a name for themselves the university, would be offering them a somewhat easier path to the professional side of eSports. Such is the case in multiple other professional sports such as basketball or football. As John Bedford explains in his guide to the Overwatch League, the company that developed the game Overwatch, Blizzard hopes revolutionize the way players are treated, because right now there are not as many regulations on teams like there are in other professional level sports. This revolution comes with teams being location based and having contracts with their players there will also be a NFL-like combine for the players of Overwatch to show off their skill (Bedford). If this new style works and is implemented across all eSports it would greatly benefit players hoping to go to the professional level; to go to college and have a proving ground to show off what they can do, while having time to practice before the combine. Then using what they have seen throughout the college careers of the athlete’s; teams will know who the stars will be, come combine and draft days. So the college level of eSports, like in traditional sports, will be the ultimate proving ground to find out if a gamer has what it takes to make at the next level.

The University of South Carolina will not be the first college to develop an eSports scene. The most notable example right now would be the University of California Irvine. The fact that there are already colleges that have a team will serve as a model for the university to use to successfully develop a team. While the university does have, a club dedicated to eSports they lack the resources and funding to be successful. Also, the club here does not have a dedicated place to practice and lacks the backing of a full-scale program such as the one at UCI. The program at UCI has been so successful, that it debuted the first public college eSports Arena. The arena, according to an article on Engadget.com, “…is packed with 80 gaming PCs loaded with the top eSports titles…” (Conditt, Jessica). The titles include games such as League of Legends and CS: GO. The success of the program has allowed the UCI arena to be backed by both iBUYPOWER the company who provided the computers and Riot Games; the company behind the hugely popular eSports phenomenon League of Legends. On top of the arena, according to Engagdet “UCI is offering ten scholarships valued at $15,000 each, to its competitive League of Legends players.” (Conditt). The fact that the university was able to build an arena with the capabilities that this has is proof that there is a future for collegiate eSports and the ability for UCI to give scholarships of $15,000 to each of the players shows the commitment they have toward this program. Also, Riot Games has different scholarships for collegiate level players so it shows backing from the companies that run these events. This is yet another reason why the USC should adopt what UCI has done and implement it here in Columbia. The arena will allow students who game regularly to gather and meet new people instead of staying in their room playing alone.

In the beginning of the university’s journey to establish themselves as an eSports university; a challenge that they will face is the location in which they hold these events. To start they should look to Eli Neiburger’s Gamers—in the Library?!: The Why, What, and How of Videogame Tournaments for All Ages. In this book, Neiburger explores how to go about setting up videogame tournaments in basically any public space. He gave examples of hosting a tournament in a library. Specifically, for USC, they could transform any of the auditoriums located in the buildings surrounding the Horseshoe such as the auditorium in Currell College or the multiple auditoriums in the Darla Moore School of Business. Any of the venues across campus that have the room could be used to host these events. As Neiburger states he uses the library in which he works in order to show the ease in which he was able to set up the events. There are also multiple computer labs located across campus that could be used as a place for the teams to practice it is a confined area with multiple computers already located inside.

Those who oppose the idea of bringing eSports into USC would bring up the amount of money it would cost and if it would be worth all the trouble. According to the article on Newzoo “Global Esports Market Report: Revenues to Jump to $463M in 2016 as US Leads the Way” in 2016 it was projected that the eSports will bring in the revenue of around $463 million so to ask whether or not it would be worth it would be like questioning the legitimacy of the less popular sports here at USC. There is obvious money to be made around eSports. Also, co-owner of the Golden State Warriors has bought controlling interest in an eSports organization and at the moment this is not odd to see there are multiple professional sport organization owners “putting their hat in the ring” and procuring an organization (Gu, Rachel Y). These are people who have made millions of dollars off branding and taking risks. Many of them saw a good investment when they saw eSports and they jumped in. USC follow their example and do the same. The question of attendance at events will be raised. Will the university be able to fill seats? Yes, sixty-five percent of eSports fans are between the ages of 18 and 34 which starting with 18 is the age which most people become a freshman in college (Wood, Joss). It will be like a Gamecock football fan who comes and watches the eSports games while they are young and their interest will follow them through life. It will bring a whole new group of people to gain interest in USC and this will allow the purchasing of merchandise to start and virtual things to be bought as well such as skins for different characters and weapons in the games.

If the university can get involved with eSports early enough they can make themselves a staple in the scene; since there would not be as many choices for players to choose we would get the recognition that we don’t always get in other sports. Also, we as a University would have the ability to choose what games we wish to promote and get involved in and almost steer the direction that would be taken for other schools. With the multitude of games out there only a few offer a collegiate level of play one example being Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm game which has the Heroes of the Dorm tournament. Tim Alphert’s talks about the benefits of collegiate eSports in his TedX talk “Destigmatizing gaming through University sports” he explains that he has set up a collegiate circuit for players of specific games to come together and win money over in Europe. He explains that it has been an enriching experience to witness these complete strangers come together and bond over their videogames and go onto win and this builds a relationship that will last well past their gaming years. This will be beneficial to USC because overall gamers are seen as loners and people who stay on their own this will allow them to come together and compete with other people and it will bring the fans of these games out to watch their university compete against other universities to win. It will have the same affect traditional sports has on the university it will allow people who would have never come in contact with each other to come together and root for their team to win.

The University of South Carolina is a wonderful place where different people from different backgrounds come together. The introduction of competitive gaming to the already extensive list of athletics we have here will only allow for more unity and a better experience overall. While there are, some risks involved in taking on this new industry; the end result will far outweigh the risks. There is a potential to make millions or even billions of dollars in this field and that should not be taken lightly by the university. Gamers from across the country are already lining up to watch their favorite teams play so why not grant those who genuinely love the University of South Carolina the ability to line up to support their fellow gamecocks in a game of League of Legends or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. With growing interest and growing revenue encompassing the world of eSports USC should take part in this phenomenon and bring to light the spectacular talent and heart that the players of videogames can have. It has been said that eSports is the future of all Sports and this great University needs to realize this before it is too late. Not only could an early start allow the university to forge its way to the top but it will have a head start for already being an established power by the time the rest of the nation’s schools catch up. There are billions of gamers out there just waiting for their opportunity and the University of South Carolina could be their new home.
