NFL is America's most popular professional sport. On game nights, it’s easy to find fans wearing their team jerseys in public and local restaurants tuning in for the live broadcast. Yet, there is another sports league that can hold a candle up to the NFL: the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), a football championship that college teams across the country participate in.

The prominence of the NCAA is not far off from other full-fledged professional sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Specifically, matches from the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) involving the top 120 college teams are aired nationwide. Even the NFL adjusts its schedule to avoid coinciding with the NCAA. Such a strong foundation not only offers a stepping stone to upper leagues but also increases the player pool and cultivates an independent ecosystem.

American colleges and sports go hand in hand. Most major colleges in the US have sports teams. Under the UC system, however, one college that stands out from the rest: UC Irvine (UCI). Although UCI lacks a football team, it makes up for it in other areas. Such as eSports.

UCI prides itself on having the most successful Overwatch college team in the US, and this year, it became the first college in America to open an on-campus eSports Arena where students can host eSports events, play games, and participate in school-organized eSports programs designed to foster the competitive gaming scene.

Similar to how other colleges recruit promising athletes by offering scholarships and a chance to play on their team, UCI has been hard at work bringing in eSports talent by means of scholarships and professional coaching. It also offers a computer game science major to study effects of games and research various gaming-related topics.

With their school-sponsored eSports arena, UCI is one of the leading institutions in college eSports, and have many cool stories to tell. Inven took a trip down to Irvine, California to find out more.

Dreams of eSports Scholarships, College Teams, and Professional Training

UCI’s eSports Arena, located at Student Center Terrance, opened its doors on September 23. The arena boasts 80 gaming PCs arranged in a PC bang fashion with some other gaming consoles on the side. It resembles typical Korean PC bangs. Each station is equipped with a top-notch gaming mouse, keyboard, headset, and chair.

Two features of the Arena particularly caught our attention: a 6v6 practice space for teams and a shoutcasting station for Overwatch League. The practice area was initially meant to house 5v5 teams, but expanded after the success of Overwatch.

Playing LoL in the Arena lets players use all Champions, gives an IP/EXP boost, and provides over 100 skins for free. This benefit is available to all enrolled students.

The overall atmosphere at the Arena was relaxed and fun. Some had a great time playing Super Smash Bros while others sat at computers playing Overwatch. At the time of our tour, the LoL World Championship was only a few days away, and students told us that they would be hosting a viewing party for the tournament on campus.

Acting Director Mark Deppe explained that the school also offers various majors and courses on video games, including media art and computer science, and that the Arena will serve as a passageway for students to experience games firsthand and interact with other gamers. He pointed to a survey conducted last year on 30,000 undergraduate students - 72% identified themselves as gamers, and 89% of the gamers supported eSports.

UCI’s gaming community, known as TAG (The Association of Gamers), is home to various game clubs, with over 3,000 members spanning diverse titles. According to Deppe, it is the largest among all US college eSports communities.

UCI offers the same level of support for eSports as traditional college sports. UCI's Hyeonjae Yang, for instance, was granted a three-year tuition to work as an eSports coach and player. This is similar to how other colleges recruit and enroll athletes with scholarships. UCI aims to sign more pro players and coaches in order to cultivate a more professional training environment.

Through these efforts dedicated to eSports, UCI is trying to kill two birds with one stone: training collegiate players, and building a public foundation for competitive gaming. The Arena serves as the players’ practice ground, stadium, clubhouse, and stage.

Building a massive eSports/gaming facility on campus was not easy. Investors, parents, and local communities had to come to a consensus to make everything happen. According to Deppe, “public opinion is shifting a lot [on gaming] right now. We have a faculty here that has published benefits of games such as hand-eye coordination, communication, critical thinking, and memory. [They] proved that LoL and 3D immersive games help with memory affected by Alzheimer’s. Gamers sense there are some positive benefits, but public opinion hasn’t gotten there [yet].”

He continued, “We're a really forward-looking administration. It’s something you won’t see in universities with a lot of tradition. If football is what you’re holding on to, then it will be a challenge [since] we don't have a football team. [eSports] could be our biggest thing on campus. We’re a little kooky here, and that’s going to benefit us. Parents have been overwhelmingly excited that this thing their kid loves doing gets them scholarships.”

UCI’s experience may not be representative of all schools, but it is safe to say that UCI is a pioneer.

To Grow Roots and Take Hold

The importance of college leagues acting as a backbone for professional leagues cannot be stressed enough. All sports emphasize school-level tournaments and strive to support them. This is a process of young students becoming future professional players, and that process plays a pivotal role in molding people into fans and contributing to a new culture.

As it stands currently, the popularity of top eSports leagues almost matches other professional sports. Playoff tickets for Worlds 2016, which took place at venues such as Madison Square Garden and the STAPLES Center, were sold out within minutes. If not the scope, at least the enthusiasm in eSports rivals that of other sports.

However, eSports pales in comparison to traditional sports when it comes to the gap in fan base and infrastructure between top tier leagues and school-level leagues. The NCAA, for instance, features 120 teams competing in the FBS. While this is an extreme case with a sample size of one, college eSports still lacks a legitimate league system. UCI is attempting to put eSports on par with existing professional sports in conjunction with programs such as Blizzard’s Overwatch League.

One of eSports' advantages over traditional sports is its accessiblity for players and viewers alike, regardless of their age, occupation, or physical condition. Its potential is limitless.

UCI’s eSports Arena certainly understands that potential.

Source article by Inven Sawual