New Year, New Esports Lab

We stubbornly moved into our new Esports Lab mid-semester this past Spring (with many parts of the building still being worked on). Technically, that makes this the first semester where we have started in our new home. We are out of the basement dungeons and into the shiny, new Garrison Student Center! This is where an esports program belongs on a campus.

One of the tenants of our program is that “Everyone plays Games.” Not everyone is competitive, but everyone likes to play. After 5 years, we finally exist in a public space where we can really engage with the student body of the campus. The change has been immediately noticeable, largely due to the fact that everyone knows we are here. We had good engagement with SOARs over the summer, and a record turnout for open-tryouts last week - as well as a new record roster number for the program, well over 50.

We have added an entirely new team this year, of which, I will not yet name. And we have 2 project teams that we are hoping to get up and running by next year. We are currently running 8 different esport titles, + the 2 project teams.

We will be hosting our first campus event this Friday, a Meet & Greet with the McM SSBU (Super Smash Bros Ultimate) team with snacks, friendlies and prizes. Viva la grassroots esports! Esports is about community.

I look forward to seeing what enfolds this year as both the McM Esports teams and campus community settle into this new synergetic dynamic!