Esports is an industry growing in popularity with the global market valued at more than $1.38 billion USD, according to Statista. Collegiate esports shares this growth and Wichita State University offers plenty of opportunities for students interested in gaming. Travis Yang, Director of Esports at WSU, provides some insight in this Q&A on how students can get involved with the program.
What would you say is the best way for interested incoming students to get involved in Wichita State Esports?
Travis - The best way for interested students to reach out and learn more is to head over to the WSU Esport LinkTree. This page has links to our player application, staff application, and public Discord server. From there our program staff can reach out to prospective students and continue the conversation.
How can interested students follow and learn more about Wichita State Esports?
We’re “esportswsu” on Discord, Twitter, Instagram, Twitch and Facebook. A full list of links can be found in our Linktree.
Can you explain the differences between the Shocker Gaming Club and the Varsity Esports Team?
Absolutely! One great thing about Wichita State is the fact that we have so many options for gamers to get involved. The gaming club has regular meetings and provides an inclusive place for students of all interest levels to get connected with other gamers. The varsity esports program operates more similarly to an athletics program in that we have a strong focus on high level intercollegiate competition, applied learning, and community engagement.
What does a typical match or tournament look like for a member of the team? What is the time commitment for students?
During the semester, teams are competing in weekly regular season matches that take place online. These matches are usually played on campus from our esports facility in the Corbin Education Center. Depending on how well a team does, they can qualify for playoffs and even earn travel opportunities to national championship events.
Occasionally there are travel opportunities for in-person tournaments, which usually last anywhere from 1-3 days and take place in and around Kansas. On average most students that are actively competing spend around 9-12 hours across official practices and matches in any given week.
(Editor's Note: Wichita State Esports currently hase five varsity teams: Call of Duty, Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and Valorant.)
What are some of the larger tournaments Wichita State has/plans to compete in?
Currently most of our teams compete in seasons hosted by the NACE Starleague, a national league governed by the National Association of Collegiate Esports. Just this year some of our teams have qualified for/competed in events like the Red Bull Campus Clutch USA Nationals, Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup and the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
Does Wichita State Esports have any big goals or aspirations for the future of the program?
One of our big goals for this upcoming year is to become more involved in supporting our local school district Wichita USD 259 and their esports initiatives at the K-12 level. Additionally we’re planning to begin hosting collegiate esports invitationals, providing competitive events for all the other varsity and club programs from the region.
Is there anything else interested incoming students should know about the program?
Even if you’re not confident/interested in being a competitive player, we’re always looking for ways to involve students as volunteer staff. We’re constantly on the lookout for team managers, social media staff, commentators, graphic designers, videographers and many more positions!
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