For students into esports, Cleveland State University’s esports program in the Washkewicz College of Engineering is the place to be. The program aims to recruit students and develop growth and skills in the realm of gaming.

Varsity and club teams in the CSU esports program focus on a variety of competitive games, with the biggest titles being Overwatch, Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Super Smash Bros., League of Legends, Rocket League and Street Fighter.

“The best part of esports is that it gives you a chance to go beyond your limitations,” said Bader Al Bader, a mechanical engineering major and League of Legends player. ”Instead of playing casually, you get to come play for actual tournaments and gain achievements.”

Students also have the opportunity to earn scholarships as the program is transitioning from offering athletic scholarships to engineering scholarships with its move from its original home in the athletics department to the college of engineering. 

What began as small clubs and communities for gamers has exploded into a major phenomenon that has garnered millions of fans around the world who not only watch online, but pay to see in person. CSU is tapping into that demand.

“Esports is just really important right now because we're starting to see it really explode on the college level and see it exploding in the high school level,” said PJ Farrell, director of esports at Cleveland State.

With the global esports market valued at approximately $2.22 billion, more companies are willing to sponsor teams. CSU's esports program's current partners include Monster Energy, Gamestop and the Cleveland Clinic.

CSU recognized the rising popularity of esports and began searching for a director and head coach for its new esports program. That led to the hiring of Farrell, who previously was a high school teacher and coach for his own high school esports team. In that role, he helped students earn significant scholarship money through games like Rainbow Six Siege.

The program is also a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), one the largest non-profit collegiate esports associations in the world. Cleveland State is one of the 200 schools across the U.S. and Canada to be a member of the association.

“You can meet people who like the same game as you," Farrell said. "You can get involved as a student worker for our program, but it's just a great social way to meet people and just feel like you're getting involved in the school and representing Cleveland State.” 

Varsity and club teams at CSU focus on a variety of competitive games, with the biggest titles being Overwatch, Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Super Smash Bros., League of Legends, Rocket League and Street Fighter.

“We try to stream absolutely everything we can with people being online and interacting with us and in a way it lets you get involved with us and help our program out,” Farrell said. “But the best way to get involved in our programs is to join our large CSU Discord that has 500 students involved with those on campus who play at home or at the dorms who are competing.” 

A major mission for the esports program is now fundraising to offer more scholarships to students.

The program is also looking to upgrade its facilities, including the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate area with more monitors, and additional TVs in the outer space of the lab for students to watch recent VODs and live streams.

If you're interested in getting involved, whether as a player, supporter or spectator, you can find out more about the program and upcoming esports events here.