The next step in the evolution of Esports at Wilmington College is occurring this fall with the club’s entry into intercollegiate competition. WC is a new member of PlayVS College League, which is a development designed to enhance the Esports Club’s goal of building a strong community in which students connect through their love for gaming.
Tyler Steckler, assistant professor of sport management and WC’s Esports coordinator, described the League affiliation as a “structured, competitive environment that mirrors traditional college sports with real schedules, standings and playoffs.” The Esports Club’s president, Zach Sizemore, who founded the club two years ago, said the move gives the College’s players “a chance to compete at a higher level while representing our school on a national stage. It’s a huge milestone for our Esports Club and something we’ve been working toward for a while.”
PlayVS is a company founded in 2018 as an inclusive gaming system that, this year, entered the collegiate level of Esports. The League has begun revealing its member institutions, which include more than 60 colleges and universities from across the nation. There are no divisions by school size like in NCAA sports, only the Premier League and Ranked League, so Wilmington College, which is starting in the Ranked League, can compete against schools with as many as 30 times its enrollment. The team boasts 75 members, with at least 16 interested in competing in the initial League competitions.
Indeed, Ohio State and Ohio Wesleyan universities invited WC’s team to competitions in October. Sizemore noted that all but one of the nine institutions in the Ohio Athletic Conference, WC’s NCAA athletic affiliation, now host Esports teams with league affiliations.
“There will be quite a bit of competition for us — it’s really big for our students,” Steckler said. “In Esports, you don’t need to travel except at tournament time; that’s one of the beautiful things about Esports.” Also, PlayVS supports 17 game titles, including ones in which the College expects to field teams. They are Rocket League, Call of Duty and Overwatch 2. The October contests will pit teams from Wilmington, Ohio State and Ohio Wesleyan in Rocket League and Valorant, which are vehicular soccer and tactical hero shooter games, respectively.
“This is a big step for us,” said Sizemore, who is both a student and member of the College’s I.T. Department. “Members have been asking me, since I started the club, when we are going to compete in a league. We’re excited for the challenge of playing in a league — nothing promotes growth more than being challenged.”
The Esports Club started the new school year with about 60 members and staffed a widely visited table at the College’s Organization Fair in late September. That recruitment event brought in at least 15 new members. “They would have a chance to play in the League all four of their years at WC,” Steckler added. “In future years, when we’ve become more competitive, we’d like to be in the Premier League.”
(ABOVE) The Esports Club staged a recruitment event at the College’s annual Organization Fair in late August. Zach Sizemore, its founding president, is lectured at the upper right.
The PlayVS affiliation also gives the team access to what’s happening in gaming on the high school level, which should aid in actively recruiting students to continue their passion for gaming while in college. “This is just the beginning,” Steckler said. “As we compete in PlayVS College League, we hope to attract more talent, more support and eventually expand to more titles and more events like hosting on-campus tournaments and streaming competitions. We want to grow our presence on campus and make Esports as recognized as traditional sports and other student organizations.”
Steckler and Sizemore expressed appreciation for the support the Esports Club has received from George Dimidik and the College’s I.T. Department, as well as WC Trustee Elizabeth Garvey and Sara J. Smith, the latter of whom is a relative of a team member. Esports is listed as a WC option for financial support via the College’s Give Campus function at: https://www.givecampus.com/schools/WilmingtonCollege/esports-evolution-help-us-level-up.
PHOTO- (TOP) Pictured from the left at their gaming controls during a club competition last spring are Ryan Washburn, Brad Brown, Jake Stein, Adam Moneypenny and Zach Sizemore.
WC Offers Minor in Esports Management
Wilmington College offers 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 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.