Collegiate esports leveling up in Delaware
By NEWARK — In February 2020, on the cusp of the pandemic, the University of Delaware opened its Esports Arena, with several dozen computers, at the Perkins Student Center.
Unfortunate timing aside, since then, the activity has boomed in popularity and now stands alongside the school’s traditional sports.
By definition, esports are essentially video games played competitively. Though doing so may not require much physical effort, players often compare a contest to a chess match or a battle of wits, during which a slim margin of time can determine victory or defeat.
“Most of these plays are coming down to milliseconds of difference,” said Kiernan Ensor, the university’s esports coordinator. “Whether you’re on target, or you’re not on target. Whether someone is able to respond or (is) not able to respond. We’re talking about reaction times and communication and an understanding of the game that is similar to whether or not you recognized, (in baseball, if) it was a fastball or a curveball coming at you.
“It is that split of a second of a decision that our players are constantly being asked to make over and over and over again.”
Contrary to the name, esports are not typically just digitized versions of traditional sports, though they can be. The most popular, however, can have players tactically placing themselves on a battlefield and skillfully shooting to take out another team, in games like “Valorant.”
Or they’re fighting battles of attrition against entire armies led by player characters, such as in “League of Legends.”
Or they may be finding the right combination of digital cards to corner an opponent in “Hearthstone,” inspired by “Magic: The Gathering.”
All of them require serious skill and dedication to be competitive. At UD, team members are practicing or competing six days a week, Mr. Ensor said.
The university’s “Hearthstone” captain, Hunter Rosenbaum, added that the mentality of the players is similar to those of other sports.
“We’re always kind of just trying to hone our skills, trying to get to the best level as we can,” he noted.
Another important part of practice is improving communication among team members — something so exceptionally significant that it extends beyond the games.
“It’s just really important to make sure that it’s also a form of being in sync with each other, whether you’re building your chemistry with each other, doing activities in real life or just playing together in a game or just talking to each other,” said Matthew Maliwanag, a junior on Delaware’s varsity “Overwatch” team.
“But just communication, I’d say, is the No. 1 key component of any team because, if there’s no communication, it’s just pure and utter chaos, and you have no idea what’s going on. You’re just going to keep losing.”
Esports got its start at the university with a longstanding — and still running — Video Game Tournament Club. Mr. Ensor said talks began in 2018 about the rise of esports in the collegiate space, which led to UD’s investment in the arena.
Now, there are six teams that each play a different game, competing in collegiate leagues that are sometimes independent but can also be run by the video game’s publisher.
University of Delaware teams have found success and won championships in several games.
“It means something to the students ... to be wearing the blue and gold,” Mr. Ensor said. “And sure, right now, it may not make a whole lot of sense to people, but, you know, even the most competitive people in the world seem to understand that competition in any form is the same. It’s about that drive to be the best and how much time, effort and energy you’re willing to put into doing that.
“And our players continue to put (in) the same amount of time and effort and energy that traditional athletes may do in their own pursuit.”
Tyler O’Keefe, the team manager for “Overwatch,” who also helps with streaming the competitions, is used to explaining the esports realm.
“I talk to a lot of parents. I’m here for (open houses), when parents come in with the kids, and they’re always like, ‘Hey, what? I don’t get it. What is this?’ And I normally just point them to a stream or a video, and I say, ‘Well, look, it is us as a group coming together, and we are facing other colleges,’” he said.
Those streams come from a student-run setup, complete with a close-up camera on each competitor and commentary by other students. Mr. O’Keefe said the arena tries to stream every day attwitch.tv/bluehenesports.
The University of Delaware isn’t the only higher educator getting into the esports game. In Dover, Delaware State University is also making investments in the activity.
Delaware State, like UD, started examining esports in 2018. The institution got in contact with Cxmmunity Gaming Co., now called The Cxmmunity Foundation, which works with underserved areas to give opportunities in the esports and gaming field.
Eventually, Cxmmunity chose the university to be one of four to receive a $200,000 donation to build an esports facility. That location, the eSports Lounge and Tech Center, opened in 2022 inside Memorial Hall.
It features a dozen powerful gaming computers, several modern video game consoles, a streaming setup open to students and a $30,000-plus racing simulator donated by NASCAR. A whiteboard collects all the best lap times.
There’s a second esports site at Delaware State University Downtown, formerly Wesley College, though it does not yet have the range the main campus has.
At this time, Delaware State’s esports program focuses on recreational play, but it does compete with other historically Black colleges and universities, like Morgan State University in Baltimore.
But that’s not to say the school isn’t interested in the big leagues.
According to Jordin Williams, DSU’s executive director of wellness and recreation, that’s a goal.
“We would like to be able to enter into phase 1, (which) would be a club sport team. So, we will enter team competition through creating a club team and then looking how successful that gets, to see if there’s the support and the opportunity to eventually move that into a (competitive) team,” she said.
“But our first goal in the competitive-team world is to have that club in place, and our goal is to have that club in place by the end of this year.”
Ms. Williams added that the club phase is an important step to generate interest before it is upgraded, which is typical for any kind of esports initiative. She noted that Cxmmunity can help the university get involved in tournaments, giving players the chance to compete for scholarships or even cash.
The eSports Lounge serves as a spot where students can come in and relax, according to graduate student Elijah McLaren, its manager. He says it sees around 200 visitors a month, a number he feels can show Delaware State the popularity of the program.
Mr. McLaren expects the school, when it joins national esports competitions, to be a force in the Nintendo fighting game “Super Smash Bros.” In fact, two of the lounge’s student employees are ranked regionally in it.
He also spoke about upcoming opportunities the university is exploring with the Delaware Department of Education — for example, allowing youth to use the facility for competitions and events.
“(We’re) just trying to bridge the gap between esports with collegiate recreation and esports within some of the high schools and middle schools,” said Miles Christmas, DSU’s assistant director for competitive sports. “So, we’re kind of looking to start that partnership in the near future.”
Meanwhile, Wilmington University has also developed an esports program, and Delaware Technical Community College has its own Gamers Club.
