President Bill Greer recently announced that Milligan College will be establishing a new co-ed eSports program headed by Milligan alumni and new Director of Multimedia Services Micah Ridley.
In a press release on Jan 18th Micah Ridley, who prior to joining Milligan has had experience developing the eSports program at King University says, “The eSports community is inclusive, entertaining and competitive. That is why the collegiate scene is the perfect place for eSports to grow, as it also forms a healthy atmosphere for students to be successful.”
Esports competitions are fueled by some of the biggest and most successful video games like, League of Legends, popularly called “League” and titles like “StarCraft’’ and “Overwatch” from Blizzard Entertainment. The sports are based on tournament-style competitions that have individual or group video game players playing against each other. It has recently become a billion-dollar industry.
With a global audience of 380 million for eSports events, and 165 million of them termed as “enthusiasts”, the esports industry has become an ideal space for brands and sponsorships.
Colleges across the U.S are getting on board, there are currently more than 50 colleges with varsity eSports programs. A non-profit organization called the National Association of Collegiate Esports, NACE has emerged as the de-facto governing body for collegiate eSports. NACE championships have given thousands in prize money which is used towards scholarships for the winners.
“We are competing in a couple titles for this coming year with the ability to add titles as there becomes interest,” Ridley said. “In regards to what we will be competing for, we will be competing in a conference, region and also for a national title, just like any other collegiate team would be.”
Ridley’s job, like many other esports coaches, would involve recruiting players to be a part of the program, developing training sessions for the team, scouting opposing teams to find their weaknesses, developing a gameplay strategy for each game, ensuring our students are being successful academically, developing the students outside of the game with things like community service, and building a team chemistry that can help win games.
Here are some remarkable statistics published by Newzoo, a global analytics provider.
- Brands will invest $694 million in the esports industry, 77% of the total market. This will grow to $1.4 billion by 2021
- Global esports revenues will reach $906 million in 2018
- The number of esports enthusiasts will reach 165 million, a year on year growth of +15.2%