"The anticipation has been building, and now the wait is finally over," said Nazarae Butler, director of athletic and student life.
Competitive video games, called eSports, is a growing industry both locally and internationally that creates competitive opportunities for high school, collegiate and casual gamers of any age to enjoy.
The new team's head coach will be Jeremy Anderson, a current student who is studying cybersecurity. He was born and raised in the Dayton area, and has been gaming since he was 4 years old when his father introduced him to "Blood," a game by Monolith and Quake.
Anderson's background in eSports includes experience when it first started and was called Major League Gaming (MLG). He's participated in many games such as Halo 3 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.
"I was part of teams, either leading them or working in cohesion with other members. We faced off against top teams that people may be familiar with like FaZe Clan, OpTic Gaming and more. Since then, I'll spectate games and play matches with teams as a substitute to keep myself fresh with today's games," he said.
Butler said Anderson will bring a unique advantage of firsthand knowledge with his extensive eSports experience and commitment.
"We eagerly look forward to the valuable impact he will have on our student-athletes and the entire athletic department. By bringing Jeremy on board, we are confident in the positive growth and development of our eSports program," she said.
The college, which is aiming to have a team of eight students, is looking into multiple leagues to get into, but the main focus is to schedule based on what's best for the student athletes.
"There are multiple different colleges we could face against ranging from Kent State University and Wright State University to colleges and community colleges within the conference," Butler said. "The choosing of what games we play will be a collaborative effort with the student-athletes."
Eventually, the college hopes the team can get established and stream practices on Twitch and Kick, Butler said.
"Not only do I want our eSports team to grow and become something amazing, but I want the students themselves to be able to have fun and grow themselves in the process," she said.
The Global Impact STEM Academy (GISA) and Springfield City School District are two other local schools that also have an eSports team.
GISA has operated its own eSports program for five years and is a part of Esports Ohio, which organizes tournaments among 250 schools. A total of 35 players participate in GISA esports.
Springfield's team recently placed third at a state competition, which was also their first year in competition. The part of the team that's been playing the video game Valorant competed at the University of Akron in May as part of the Esports Ohio State Playoff matches, which is sponsored by the OHSAA and attended by many college scouts. The high school's eSports program is also working on plans to expand the team this school year.
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