Idaho State Names Inaugural Esports Team Members
August 21, 2024
Idaho State University, with the help of a world-renowned coach and a talented group of first-year recruits, has joined schools across the nation in offering an Esports program for student gamers. The players, who will start competing in the fall, solidified their commitment to the team at a signing ceremony this week.
Students will compete on three teams- Team Valorant, Team Overwatch and Team Rocket League. Team members received professional jerseys as they signed their commitment letters.
New Esports Coach Charles “Mystvc” Johnston, 2023 Call of Duty World Champion from Pocatello, wasn’t able to be at the signing event because he was invited to participate in the Esports World Cup as the coach of the Call of Duty team in Saudi Arabia. He joins ISU as a highly decorated player and coach.
Lowell Richards, associate vice president for student affairs, says bringing Esports to ISU is the right thing to do.At the signing ceremony, Richards told the gathered crowd that esports were one of the fastest-growing sports on college campuses, with just over 300 varsity programs nationwide. Esports continue to grow among younger students, with more than 8,500 high school programs. Esports is a $1.5 billion industry, Richards said.
And, although they will be gaming for the Bengals, Richards said academics will still come first.
“The goal of our program is to enhance the overall student experience and provide a pathway toward graduation,” says Richards. “We require a minimum GPA, and we’ll be checking in with our players to help ensure their success in gaming and in the classroom, because we want them to be graduates of ISU.”
Esports offers opportunities for students to learn a wide variety of skills while pursuing their degree, during their time on the team and into their careers.
Julia Miller is a junior studying political science major with three semesters left at ISU. She began playing Overwatch 1 when she was in seventh grade, right after it first came out. Although she didn’t realize it then, she now understands that gaming can be a career opportunity and was pleased to see that there was a team at ISU.
“It’s awesome that I can come to ISU, play games, get a scholarship, meet amazing people and interact with the staff helping out as well,” Miller said. “I am so excited to be the first of hopefully many ISU Esports players.”
But it’s not just about playing video games. Richards says faculty and some college deans are thinking bigger about Esports. Future discussions are planned to consider academic programming and course curriculum that could be developed related to different aspects of Esports, including potential degree programs.
The ISU Esports arena is located on the first floor of the Pond Student Union and though it’s not what you might expect for an arena, it’s filled with state of the art equipment.
“Our space is small now, and we know we could easily triple the space and fill it,” Richards said. “We have a goal to grow, and we have a great start.”
TEAM OVERWATCH
Abigail Janicek - Sophomore - Earth and Environmental Systems
Dilyn Graefe - Junior - Computer Science
Nathan Parkin - Freshman - Energy Systems and Mechanical Engineering
William Forde - Junior - Computer Science
Julia Miller - Junior - Political Science
Jonas Miramontes - Senior - Electrical Engineering
Brooklynne Larson - Sophomore - Biology
Sergio Garcia - Senior - Nutrition
TEAM ROCKET LEAGUE
Emory Johnson - Junior - Communications
Bannon Schafer - Sophomore - Nuclear Engineering
Jye Lambson - Freshman - Information Technology Systems
Adam Storms - Junior - Chemistry
TEAM VALORANT
Cody Barenberg - Sophomore - Computer Science
Will Nelson - Sophomore - Radiographic Science
Issac Turner - Sophomore - Computer Science
Liam Searle - Junior - Computer Science
Johnathon Michael Joseph Stoneback - Junior - Philosophy
Isabella Dougherty - Senior - Computer Science
Nicholas Ryver - Junior - Information Technology Systems
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