The COVID Season: U.S. Collegiate Esports Programs’ Material Challenges and Opportunities During the 2020–21 Pandemic

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities were among the first institutions to shift to an online model. As they did so, nascent collegiate esports program lost access to campus spaces and in-person connections, potentially destabilizing this rising industry. Conversely, universities also worked to provide students remote access to resources, and many components of esports already occur online. Therefore, collegiate esports may have adjusted to distancing measures, potentially strengthening their footholds on US campuses. This paper draws on in-depth interviews with collegiate esports players, student employees, program directors, and administrators to address different programs’ reactions to the pandemic, specifically the challenges and opportunities they faced. Overall, interviews reveal how COVID-19 shifted the understandings of and practices around gaming and esports, highlighted the intermittent relationship of online and offline spheres, and presented various possibilities and challenges for different stakeholders during the global pandemic.

Where Do Amateurs Go to Become Pros? A Comparison of the Current Competition Systems in Collegiate Esports to Traditional Collegiate Sport Environments

“…This is especially true of the students themselves, who often function as the players and operators of esports endeavors (Harris et al, 2022;Taylor, 2020). In general, the involvement of multiple stakeholders with diverging interests in collegiate esports programs can lead to inconsistent oversight and organizational challenges (Cote et al, 2023).…”

Taking Care of Toxicity: Challenges and Strategies for Inclusion in U.S. Collegiate Esports Programs

“…Similarly, players are often tasked with moderating their program's Discord, allowing interpersonal relationships to influence how rules are applied in online spaces as well as in-person events. These issues may be worsened by COVID-19 as budget cuts may drive programs to cut funding for supervisory roles and rely on students instead (Cote et al, 2022).…”

The Risks and Rewards of Collegiate Esports

“…Also, challenges faced in esports happens when players are ill (such as during COVID-19 and flu season) that can be challenging for teams when players are not available to compete on campus with their team. However, Cote et al (2022) discussed that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, collegiate esports were able to thrive and become meaningful through digital technologies where players could compete from home utilizing campus resources when they could not be on campus due to illness. Similarly, Delello et al (2021) reported that positive outcomes students reported from playing esports included academic and personal benefits such as "social interaction, teamwork, and critical thinking skills" (p. 1) while the risks of esports were perceived as "esports gaming addiction; mental, social, emotional risks; lack of physical activity; and physical disorders associated with playing eSports" (p. 1).…”