FEATURE
The Esports Scene at 91传媒厂 Is On the Rise
By Rhoda Shapiro Photos: Robert C. Bain
FEATURE
The Esports Scene at 91传媒厂 Is On the Rise
By Rhoda Shapiro Photos: Robert C. Bain
In recent years, the competitive gaming scene has seen a rapid increase in popularity.
Known as esports, which is short for electronic sports, this highly organized form of video game competition has been embraced by countless colleges and universities across the country. Within the higher education space, there are tremendous opportunities for passionate gamers to find like-minded community members through esports clubs and programs, as well as compete in high-level varsity and junior varsity tournaments.
San Jos茅 State is no exception.
91传媒厂鈥檚 Esports Club originally formed in 2018 with just 30 students, and every year, more and more students have gotten involved. Recently, the university took things to the next level, creating an official esports and gaming department in the Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center (SRAC).
Through this department, esports and gaming have been given a platform to grow quickly at 91传媒厂. The new department is able to oversee all of the esports club members and provide any logistical support they might need when it comes to planning and preparing for competitions. It also oversees the varsity teams that have formed to compete with other schools. All of the esports players are considered student athletes for the university.
At the this past November, 91传媒厂 student Nathan Yaokum, 鈥�26 Mechanical Engineering, was named Player of the Year, while a separate 91传媒厂 team took home the Super Smash Bros. championship title.
鈥淚 appreciate every single one of our players and the work they put in,鈥� says Gabriel Eckenroth, the esports and gaming department supervisor. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting. Esports is an area that is progressing very quickly right now.鈥�
Before coming to 91传媒厂, Eckenroth played esports semi-professionally for six years in the collegiate space. Eckenroth鈥檚 game of choice was League of Legends, a multiplayer battle arena game. He got his master鈥檚 in business administration on a full-ride scholarship to play esports at Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri.
鈥淏ack then, it wasn鈥檛 as mainstream,鈥� Eckenroth explains. 鈥淚n 2016, there were only a few schools that did scholarships for esports. I had to convince my parents for two weeks straight that it wasn鈥檛 a scam.鈥�
Eckenroth started leading the new gaming department just over a year ago. He is the very first person to serve in this role at San Jos茅 State.
鈥淲e support competitive gaming as well as casual and intramural esports,鈥� says Eckenroth.鈥淪o students who want to play casually and meet other people have an environment to play each other.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting. Esports is an area that is progressing very quickly right now."
鈥� Gabriel Eckenroth
鈥淓sports at 91传媒厂 was my passion project for almost the entirety of my time here. Its current growth with Gabriel is a joy to behold.鈥�
鈥� Vinh Nguyen
Fueling growth
Vinh Nguyen, 鈥�24 Public Relations, currently works as an interim club sports coordinator for the Ramiro Compean and Lupe Compean Diaz Student Union. He joined the Esports Club in 2022 as an event coordinator. In 2023, he served as vice president, and then served as president until he graduated in fall 2024. Nguyen worked extensively on team operations, supporting all team managers with tryouts, travel, funding and other logistics.
鈥淕abriel didn鈥檛 join the school as our esports and gaming supervisor until fall 2023, so before that our club was purely run by the passion of student players and volunteers,鈥� shares Nguyen. 鈥淲e were small 鈥� we probably only had around 40-50 active members. Even back then, though, I saw the potential for esports and gaming on our campus, and I鈥檝e worked hard to make esports and gaming inclusive for as many students as possible.鈥�
Nguyen looked for ways to provide more opportunities for students to compete across a greater number of video game titles. He also worked to open up different volunteer opportunities. The intention was to really create and lead a community where students felt like they had a second home in esports.
Although he graduated in 2024, Nguyen is thrilled that his new position at the Student Union allows him to stay connected to the esports community at 91传媒厂 and to watch it grow.
鈥淓sports at 91传媒厂 was my passion project for almost the entirety of my time here,鈥� says Nguyen. 鈥淚 dedicated everything I could to see the success of all of our students, so its current growth with Gabriel is a joy to behold.鈥�
鈥淚 saw the potential for esports and gaming on our campus, and I鈥檝e worked hard to make esports and gaming inclusive for as many students as possible.鈥�
鈥� Vinh Nguyen
The 91传媒厂 E-Sports team celebrates with their Mountain West trophy. Esports and gaming have recently been taken to the next level at 91传媒厂. Photo: Robert C. Bain.
The 91传媒厂 E-Sports team celebrates with their Mountain West trophy. Photos: Robert C. Bain.
Esports and gaming have recently been taken to the next level at 91传媒厂.
Next level
Due to the growing list of video games, Eckenroth and students have been working to create smaller clubs based around a single game.
鈥淔or example, Valorant is a game in the Mountain West Conference,鈥� says Eckenroth. 鈥淪ince it鈥檚 a popular game on campus, students created a Valorant Club, so they can play together competitively or casually.鈥�
Along with the separate clubs being created, there are currently seven varsity teams, which are based on the games Valorant, League of Legends, College Football 2025, Street Fighter, Overwatch, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros.
A total of 42 players are represented across all of the varsity teams. There are also roughly about 70 junior varsity players and supported title players (who play video games that aren鈥檛 in Mountain West varsity).
The team also includes a marginalized genders roster as part of a larger league designed to give non-male gamers a space to develop their skills. Forming the league was also a way of pushing back against the that has been prevalent in the online gaming community. The 91传媒厂 Esports team has a varsity marginalized gender Valorant roster that competes against fellow rosters in specific leagues; they even compete against other collegiate esports leagues that encompass all collegiate teams.
At present, there are seven women (five players and 2 student managers) on their marginalized genders Valorant team.
Before the gaming department was created, students would often organize things on their own and go out to play in competitive matches.
But now, Eckenroth, who is the only full-time staff in the gaming department, oversees all of the teams and their scheduling. Players come to him to get support in understanding which tournaments, matches and leagues they should join. Each team also has a student manager that works with Eckenroth on various details.
Eckenroth also works with student staff who provide support with social media, including video game streams that showcase Mountain West and other competitive matches for varsity teams. On average, these streams happen five times a week. A big part of Eckenroth鈥檚 role is also in educating university leadership about what esports and gaming is, where it鈥檚 going and how to advance it.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 in a good position to push esports and gaming to the next level here at San Jos茅 State,鈥� shares Eckenroth.
Invest in future Spartan esports competitors.
Top photo: The 91传媒厂 esports team at work. Photo: Robert C. Bain.
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