SUNY Jamestown Community College has announced a three-part plan to launch eSports.
JCC is planning to introduce a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) eSport team and a college gaming club starting in the 2021-22 academic year, with future plans to establish an eSport academic program, said Dr. Kirk Young, the college’s vice president of student affairs.
“While gaming has been a part of college students’ lives for generations, the formal, organized competitive eSports approach is relatively new,” Young said. “As our communities, our current, and an increasing number of prospective students become more interested in competitive gaming, it makes sense for JCC to provide valuable eSports opportunities on our campuses.”
JCC is joining approximately 130 other colleges across the country that have adopted eSports academic programs, clubs, and varsity teams, or a combination of the three.
“JCC has an opportunity to become an early adopter within the college community in New York, and in the eSports industry overall,” Young said.
ESports began gaining popularity less than a decade ago as a way for video game enthusiasts to compete on a large scale and for growing pools of prize money. The industry has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years, and is set to surpass $1.5 billion in revenues by 2023, according to the ESports Ecosystem Report, published by Business Insider Intelligence. Gaming viewership has also increased significantly.
JCC has a long history of active student engagement in gaming on its campuses. For years, students have taken advantage of informal and gaming club opportunities to meet and compete against one another on a variety of gaming platforms.
The addition of eSports opportunities is the next step in elevating the college’s gaming club status and boosting general student involvement, said Andrew Baker, a JCC media production instructor who co-directs the college’s gaming club with campus librarian, Kassandra Wegner.
“The purpose of the JCC Gaming Club is to give students the opportunity to pursue a passion for gaming and eSports through intra and inter-collegiate club competition,” Baker said. “We will take advantage of opportunities to compete against fellow JCC students, as well as students at other colleges taking part in tournament play.”
A step up from the club participation is JCC’s sanctioned NJCAA eSports team, which is set to begin competition by late fall 2021 and operate under the college’s department of athletics.
The program will be based on the college’s Cattaraugus County Campus in Olean, N.Y., but will be open to students studying on any of JCC’s campuses or sites – including those taking online courses.
Sixty teams currently compete at the NJCAA level, with 33 added during the 2020-21 academic year. New York state community colleges fielding eSports teams include Monroe, Finger Lakes, Corning, Broome and Hudson Valley.
“As we anticipate our potential league, it’s important to keep in mind that in eSports, distance is no object,” said Wegner, the team’s coach.
ESports teams compete online in tournaments set up by various organizations currently involved in university ESports, such as NACE—the National Association of Collegiate ESports
If the gaming club and NJCAA team demonstrate growth, interest, and success, JCC’s next step is developing an eSports Management program.
The college’s proposed eSports Management degree program will focus on the business aspect of eSports, including marketing, public relations, coaching, management, accounting, and finances.
At least 16 colleges nationally offer gaming and eSports academic programming.
“Given eSports’ growth as a business sector and its increasing presence in student and academic affairs, this is an ideal time to explore the viability of an academic degree program in eSports management,” said Jacob Hordych, director of JCC’s Sport Management program.
The eSports management program is a combination of four already established academic programs at JCC: Computer Science, Sport Management, Business, and Media Arts.
“Students in the eSports program would learn about planning events, using streaming technology, how to engage fans and customers, and gain an understanding of gaming industry trends and genres,” Hordych said. “They may pursue careers in social media, business development, community relations, event supervision, management, and many other industry fields.”
An 11-person steering committee of JCC campus leaders has worked together to guide the college’s eSports endeavors.
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