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MYSPORTS

UM-Flint eSports Investing in the Future PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN–FLINT

Legends, Rainbow Six and Apex Leg ends. eSports teams compete in national or local league tournaments, often going head-to-head in a battle for superiority. Recently, UM-Flint defeated Ohio State in its first NACE Starleague match of the season. “That’s the beauty of eSports. The size of the college doesn’t matter – it’s a level playing field,” states Gooding. In fact, UM-Ann Arbor has yet to construct a varsity eSports team, so it’s up to UM-Flint to carry the flag for the institution. “They did help with some

“We are UM-Flint’s first official varsity sport,” says UM Flint eSports Coordinator,

was just beginning – we had to scrounge around to find teams to compete against. Now it’s everywhere – the best athletes are making six-figure incomes! Twitch streams and YouTube videos are pulling in revenue for colleges and professional gamers all the time. After I explained the concept, the buy-in from the college executive staff was immediate.” UM-Flint eSports competes in the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE) as well as the Mich igan eSports Conference (MEC) in a collection of games that includes Rocket League, Overwatch, Valorant, League of

Jason Gooding. “We became official last fall at the start of the pandemic.We were fully remote and one of the only things on campus that kept going.” For Gooding, the idea to add eSports (com petitive, organized video-gaming) for all UM-Flint’s students was a no-brainer. After all, he has been active in online eSports for years and knew of its poten tial as a recruitment and retention tool, community builder and revenue creator. “eSports is becoming huge,” he states. “When I started years and years ago, it

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