Blazers Launch Esports Program

Esports

The Blazers esports program is a club sport under the athletics department, and it supports the interests and values of collegiate esports gaming and the student-athletes that form its community.

Blazers Add Esports Club to Athletics Department

Esports is one of the fastest-growing trends in collegiate athletics, and at Hood College, we have launched an esports program that has established gaming as part of the culture on campus. Our program is a club sport under the athletics department, and it supports the interests and values of collegiate esports gaming and the student-athletes that form its community.

Esports has been described as “competition augmented by technology,” and no one at the College level does competition better than Hood College athletics. Esports are sports of focus, strategy and skill. Players must be in good physical condition to be in peak mental condition. Game-play strategy is deep, complex and dynamic, and the mechanics and muscle memory required for each game are incredibly fast-paced. Additionally, team building, communication, tradition and problem solving are key attributes during collegiate competitions, including esports matches.

We use professional equipment, including Maingear custom PCs with liquid cooling and NVIDIA memory boosts, Razer keyboards and controllers, and curved HD monitors.

We compete in the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), which is mostly Division III teams, and the Collegiate Star League (CSL), which is mostly Division I teams. We play Rocket League, Super Smash Bros., Overwatch, FIFA, Madden, Fortnite and Apex Legends. We do not and will not compete in, play or support any game with excessive violence or misogynistic themes.

Our program is designed to enhance the student experience. It provides our athletics department the ability to expand opportunities for student-athletes and connect with students who are not engaged in traditional sports. These student-athletes must follow all requirements as any other student-athletes, including minimum GPA, conditioning and code of conduct.

The talent was here already—they just had no way to showcase it, and now they do. We have more than 25 students and a lot of freshman talent.

Read more about Hood College esports at hoodathletics.com/sports/esports/index.