After an hour of play, the home team was deflated and reeling, wondering how they could perform so horribly under the bright lights at the Rutgers Athletic Center. The Scarlet Knights trailed two-games-to-none in a best-of-five matchup, a deficit almost no one ever comes back from.
The Rutgers players felt tension building as they stared ahead grim-faced and tight-lipped.
“Come on guys!” the team’s coach roared. “We all know we’re better!”
Suddenly, they started moving through the game as if tethered telepathically, making all the right moves. They won their first game, then another, then one more. Rutgers had done the unthinkable — securing a heart-stopping, come-from-behind victory that ignited a wild celebration of high-fives and jubilant screams.
Did we mention they were playing video games?
No, seriously. Video games. And in a legitimate college competition, no less.
The dramatic victory came during the Scarlet Classic V, and at the end of a 16-team tournament for Overwatch, a wildly popular multiplayer, first-person shooter game that looks like a digital fantasy dream came alive on a computer screen. It netted the six Rutgers players $3,000 in prize money to split evenly, a financial boon for a bunch of undergrads, and an unheard of concept — at least until recently — when it comes to college and sports.
“We played scared in the beginning,” said Steve Murset, a tall, shaggy-haired senior from the Rutgers team. “There was a lot of money on the line. We just weren’t being aggressive. We had to change it up.”
Change is exactly what’s happening to the competitive college landscape with showcases like the one last month for eSports — essentially live competitive video games, either one-on-one or in a team format. That means everything from the smash-hit Fortnite game that recently took the world by storm and became a cultural phenomenon, to more classic games like Pokémon and Super Smash Bros.
Now, you can compete in them all for fun or cash and even collegiately. In fact, more than 200 schools are offering scholarships. And if you’re really good, you can turn pro and play for a team that could hand you a six-figure contract.
Essentially, we’re now living in a world where playing video games can lead to the fame and fortune that a decade ago required you to play hoops like LeBron James, swing a golf club like Tiger Woods or throw passes like Tom Brady.
“It’s rapidly growing, and when I say rapidly growing, I don’t mean year-to-year,” said Anthony Gaud, president and co-founder of InGame eSports, an Atlantic City-based consulting company. “I mean, like, month-to-month.”
N.J. college turned a sparsely-used computer lab into a haven for competitive gamers
Stockton University showed off its new esports facility Tuesday.
The eSports explosion — and its mind-boggling reach and impact — are clearly delineated in raw data. Insiders expect the global market to surpass $1 billion this year. And experts say the growth is felt perhaps most at the college level. Hundreds of colleges across the country now have eSports teams, including at least a dozen in New Jersey, and several private companies and media empires like ESPN are cashing in and running tournaments.
It means that eSports could completely change the dynamics of intercollegiate sports and revolutionize how schools recruit athletes, market sports teams and think about athletics in general. Schools are seeing the same value and pattern today that surfaced decades ago when college football and basketball became money makers. Both sports now rake in billions of dollars in TV contracts, ticket sales and sponsorship revenue, funding seven-figure administrative salaries, school-wide initiatives and new campus construction.
That’s where many believe eSports are headed.
Some schools said they’ve started programs to better serve interested students, expand their offerings and get involved in an increasingly popular area of interest for young people. But others believe the interest boils down to money — and potentially lots of it.
“So many entities in eSports have stars in their eyes about how big it might be and how lucrative it might be,” said Dan Coonan, CEO of the Eastern College Athletic Conference, which boasts 25 colleges who compete in eSports, including several from New Jersey. “So many of them want to control it and be the ones that are cashing in.”
Member of NJIT’s Overwatch team take on Rutgers last month. (Matthew Stanmyre | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Right now, almost anything goes when it comes to eSports — especially at the college level.
College eSports has no singular governing body like the NCAA, and it’s well-established that players make money on their own and often compete in college events for cash prize pools or scholarship money.
The NCAA, meanwhile, considers competing for money a cardinal violation of an athlete’s amateur status. But the absence of major oversight means eSports players can monetize their skills like never before at the college level.
Scott Zackman, the competitive director for Rutgers eSports, said three players won $10,000 apiece for a 2017 tournament for the game Hearthstone.
Jacob Hoppenfeld, a third-year psychology major at Stockton University in Galloway, said he’s made enough money in scholarships and awards to pay for his last two years of tuition.
And Alice Balashova, a Rutgers player who also is in charge of selling Rutgers eSports streetwear — said profits go directly back into the program or the pockets of the players, unlike mainstream college sports.
“It’s insane where it is now,” Balashova said. “People don’t even realize how popular it is.”
And for good reason. More young people are playing and watching eSports on live streaming platforms than the NBA Finals or World Series, according to reports.
Plus, a 27-year-old gamer from the Midwest named Tyler “Ninja” Blevins recently dethroned international soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo as the world’s No. 1 social media influencer. He has more than 11 million subscribers to his Twitch channel — where he plays video games live and interacts with viewers — and more than 20 million YouTube subscribers. He’s been on the cover of “ESPN The Magazine” and makes between $500,000 and $1 million per month from playing video games.
One day, college national championship events could be streamed to millions around the globe, presenting limitless sponsorship opportunities and invaluable publicity.
“It is coming and there’s no stopping it,” Coonan said. “Eventually, every school in the country will have some version of an eSports program.”
Chris Franklin
A new eSports facility on the Stockton University campus in Galloway opened recently. The facility has 15 computers optimized for online gaming. (Chris Franklin | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Just like when colleges see an enrollment spike after a football or basketball team wins a national championship, a successful eSports program can help attract students, experts say.
And eSports are presenting several new and important promotional opportunities. For instance, when college teams play eSports on live streaming services such as Twitch, it’s free publicity and another avenue to get the word out about the school. Social media, where players interact and promote games and events, adds another layer of promotion.
Colleges also are eager to tap into the pool many eSports players are coming from. Victoria Horsley, head of marketing for the National Association of Collegiate eSports, one of several college governing bodies, said 83 percent of college eSports players are science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors. It’s a different demographic of prospective students than many schools see with traditional athletics, and a key group many officials want in their schools, she said.
N.J. college turned a sparsely-used computer lab into a haven for competitive gamers
Stockton University showed off its new esports facility Tuesday.
“The old stigma was an eSports gamer was someone who sits in their basement, eats Doritos and drinks Mountain Dew,” said Dan Gallagher, the director of sports sales at Meet AC and the Atlantic City Sports Commission. “But that cannot be further from the truth. These people are your next tech directors. They’re incredibly savvy, incredibly smart. They have a larger fan base than most athletes do.”
Several colleges in New Jersey already have teams, including Rutgers, Stockton, Fairleigh Dickinson, Rowan and others. Hundreds of students are latching on and discovering they can be something they never thought possible: A college “athlete.”
“I was never too much into athletics as a kid,” said Dianna Marinelli, a 21-year-old sophomore at Stockton and a member of the school’s eSports team. “But now I actually feel like I’ve got a place when it comes to sports. I’m able to play something competitively and enjoy it.”
It’s even trickling down to younger levels. Six states now run eSports high school state championship tournaments. Even middle schools are adding teams.
The idea of young people playing even more video games is a concept many parents are struggling to comprehend. Some of the best young players can spend 10 hours or more a day in front of their screens — a lifestyle studies show can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, stunted social development or even depression.
“There’s an addictive quality to this that could be in some instances dangerous,” Coonan said.
But with so much money and interest flowing around eSports, it’s changing how people think about video games and screen time.
Larry White, executive director of the state’s governing body for high school sports, anticipates high school competitions coming soon to New Jersey. He said parents who shout for their kids to put down the video games and get outside may start rethinking their message.
Instead, as White puts it, “They’re probably saying, ‘Why aren’t you downstairs playing video games?’”
Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
