Getting any event off the ground can be difficult to run when no one signs up.
Butch Fealy and the University of Idaho’s intramural department found themselves in a difficult situation when they attempted to host a FIFA soccer video game tournament in 2019 for students. When the time came to start the event, no one had put their name down.
“Maybe students weren’t interested in going off-campus to the PLAYlive Nation in the mall (which has since closed),” Fealy said. “Or maybe they just didn’t like the game(s). Either way, students might not be interested in putting that much time in when they can game at their convenience with a group of friends.”
The rapid growth of competitive video games across the planet has made gaming from home common. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone inside for a time, it’s no wonder online gaming keeps expanding, making it harder for intramural directors like Fealy to host more tournaments.
“(Intramurals) just aren’t the vehicle for esports competitions among students,” Fealy said. “The interest in gaming is there, but (esports) is something that needs to be cultivated and done right.”
The University of Idaho may try to cultivate that esports culture over time. Despite being the only Big Sky Conference member that does not have an official esports program, Idaho does offer the Vandal Esports Club. Club members play together and often join national collegiate competitions. Recently, they formed a team that began competing in an Electronic Gaming Federation (EGF) tournament featuring the game Valorant on February 18.
The university’s Information Technology Services also puts on its annual Vandal Overnight Games. The 12-hour event rents out space in the Pitman Center or ISUB once every Fall and Spring semester and features sectioned areas for participants to play video games, card games, board games, karaoke and virtual reality to name a few. It also attracts nearly 800 participants from both the university and community on average.
“It’s essentially a large-scale nerd event,” said Max Stillwell, who serves as one of four committee members of the event. “People can bring their own games and community businesses can sponsor prizes. I remember one student told me that he wished to attend school here because of the event.”
Stillwell also mentioned that Vandal Overnight Games brings a large gaming community in Moscow together continuously, and that it serves as proof that an esports program at the university is possible.
The overnight games have been ran about eight times successfully before getting shut down during the pandemic in 2020, but Stillwell plans to bring a masked version of the event back on April 9 of this year, pending university approval.
Esports is a growing industry in the world’s expanding digitalization, and its influence at the University of Idaho is promising, even if students aren’t willing to leave their dorms in large numbers to compete in tournaments.
But any new culture always starts somewhere, and down the road, sign-up sheets for future esports tournaments could run out of room.
Max Stillwell is the Information Technology support professional for the University of Idaho Student Media.
Shea Mattson can be reached at [email protected].