WC’s Esports Club on the rise

The Underground Game Room was buzzing on a Friday evening this spring when the 12 computers designated for Esports were manned and a crowd of onlookers watched as excitement waxed and waned with the action on the screens.

Wilmington College’s Esports Club, which boasts about 60 members, was founded before the introduction of the Esports management minor in the fall of 2023. It is designed to create an accepting community for casual and competitive gamers to share their interests. That night in The Underground, a dozen club members were playing Marvel Rivals with six teammates aligned side-by-side at the bank of gaming computers, faced off against six more on the other side of a partition.

“Some students spend every free moment playing games,” Zach Sizemore said. He is both a WC student and an employee in the College’s Information Technology area. “Team members normally specialize in a title — we have nine titles, including the super popular Call of Duty Black Ops 6. Some are good at big picture games and others at other types of titles.”

So, the next competition likely featured a different group of team members based on their preference for the video game selected.

While simply being interested in Esports is the primary motivation for club members, keen dexterity and good hand-eye coordination are also helpful, as players engage in “coordinated actions translated in real time,” Sizemore said.

Team member Adam Moneypenny noted, "Esports on campus has helped us build a community within the one we already have. The addition of the Esports Club has helped friendships grow out of our events and has allowed me to connect with a lot of people that I probably would have never talked to before. I am not the most social person, so it is nice to be able to connect with fellow gamers on a personal level with a large hobby in common."

Ryan Washburn added, “The friends I’ve made along the way have been great, and the lifelong friendships I’ve built through the club are something I’ll always cherish."

As club president, Sizemore organizes campus competitions and plans for the team to compete against other colleges soon, ideally next year. “It’s a growing sport,” he said. He hopes to outfit the club with team jerseys and offer travel accommodations similar to athletic sports teams. He also sees the College being more intentional in recruiting students interested in Esports and has started that outreach by inviting local high school students to learn about the club.

On the road to transitioning from a club to a varsity sport, the Esports Club is partnering with the College’s Advancement Office. The office has established a vehicle for those interested in providing financial support at https://www.givecampus.com/schools/WilmingtonCollege/esports-evolution-….

The College is offering a minor in Esports management as the booming industry approaches an audience of a billion globally, with revenues of more than $1.5 billion. The popularity of Esports lends itself to the more and more technology-driven society of today. Esports is especially inclusive and accommodates persons with physical disabilities, while also providing competitors with many of the benefits of traditional, athletics-oriented sports: teamwork, camaraderie, self-motivation, work ethic, goal-setting and a shared experience.

The academic minor is designed to be completed in four semesters and is open to students in all majors; however, those majoring in WC's popular sport management area would only need to take three additional courses to earn the minor. The minor features four four-credit-hour courses and three two-credit-hour courses.

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