Esports

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Gaming

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Academic Program

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Leave Your Mark In The World Of Esports

500X330_eSports_Career Do you want to be a part of one of the fastest growing industries in the world? Then look no further and make St. Thomas your new home. The Esports program here at UST was created to offer students the insight into all aspects of the gaming world. Here on campus, we offer a community for video game lovers to gather together and create friendships through shared interest of games, a competitive team to test your skills and represent the university against rival schools, and an education program to teach students how to make a career in the Esports industry.

Potential careers:

Broadcasting
Entrepreneur
Esports Coach
Esports Law/Contract Management
Events Manager
Sales
Social Media Coordinator
Talent Management

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$1.8 Billion

By 2023

PROJECTED REVENUE FOR ESPORTS

Source: Business Insider

$62,237

Average Salary

ESPORTS COACH IN HOUSTON

Source: ZipRecruiter

185%

Job Growth

PROFESSIONS IN THE ESPORTS INDUSTRY

Source: ESI eSports Insider

Lead The Pack Of The UST Gaming Program

500X330_eSports_NextLevel The Esports program at the University of St Thomas was created to provide students an opportunity to be involved with the Esports world unparalled at any other campus. Here, you will have the opportunity to establish traditions and leave a legacy that future generations of students will follow.

With the 2020 - 2021 academic school year being the first year of UST's gaming club/competitive team being established, this will provide a platform for students to immediately assume leadership roles within our club/competitive team and be recognized as a pioneer of the program for years to come.

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THE PERSONAL ATTENTION YOU DESERVE

With a student to faculty ratio of just 11:1 and an online success coach for every undergraduate student, you’ll get the personal attention you need to maximize your potential. Secure your future now at UST.

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Courses (6 – 3 Credit Hour Classes)*

Introduction to Esports – This course introduces the concept of Esports and competitive gaming. The course will teach about the history of Esports, what makes a game an esport and what the current landscape of the industry looks like. This course will cover the early days of video game competition, starting with arcade time trials and high points competitions and early versions of true Esports like OGN and MLG StarCraft and Halo tournaments to franchise leagues like League of Legends and the Call of Duty league.

What is Esports/competitive Esports
- What makes a game an esport
- History of Esports
Landscape
- Structure of the industry and major players
- Financial mechanisms that support the industry
- Potential future changes to these areas
Jobs and roles in the Esports industry
- Team operations
- Business operations
- Other (brand, event, production, etc.)

Course Outcome – After this course the student should have a basic understanding of Esports. What they are, how the industry is structured, who the major players are, and what direction it the space is heading.

Contemporary Issues in Esports (seminar class) – This course will cover current issues in the Esports landscape. The course will go over issues professional players, organizations, game developers, and broadcasters currently deal with, how issues are handled now and other possible solutions for the future. The course will discuss broad issues such as the pros and cons of franchises leagues vs open tournament circuits as well as issues like the path to pro for players and where colleges sit in that path. Legal issues that surround the space will be covered and how they are like or different than issues in the normal legal or sports world.

Player rights
- Unions
- Employment law
- Age requirements
- Training and development
- Health issues
Franchising vs open leagues vs relegations vs event-based
- Differences, pros and cons of each
- What is best for players, fans, organizations, brands, etc.
- Potential future structures

Course Outcome – After this course the student should have an in-depth understanding of Esports as an industry, the issues that often appear in it, and possible outcomes to these issues.

Experiential Learning: Internships – Students can participate in 10 to 12 week summer internships with Esports and game developers in the United States. Internships can focus on Esports events/production management, Esports coaching/analytics, Esports team management, Esports business operations, and game design.

Common Positions
- Events/Production
  - Content Specialist: creating imagery, videos, and audio clips for use promoting and executing Esports events and productions
  - Production Assistant: assisting with the planning, set up, and execution of live and to-tape Esports productions
  - Event Manager: planning and executing live Esports events such as LANs, live tournaments and brand activations
  - Esports Admin: Esports competitive planning (rule creation, scheduling, player contact, etc) and competition execution (administering play, player assistance, moderation, dispute resolution, etc)
Esports Team Operations
- Coach: administering all aspects of Esports program including: recruiting, scouting, game/match and practice preparation, instructing, monitoring the academic progress of student-athletes, public relations efforts, and more
- Analyst: taking individual, team, match, and game data and providing analytical advice to staff on things like recruiting, scouting, match preparation, etc.
- Manager: responsible for all logistics of the Esports program including public relations efforts, budget operations, team travel arrangements, and fundraising activities as well as player wellbeing and organization expectations
Business Operations
- Operations Assistant: assisting all departments to maintain productivity. Includes everything from asset management, facilities management, IT support, office supplies, networking, production and event assistance, and everything in between
Game Development
- Developer: utilizing common game engines (Unity, Unreal, CryEngine, Lumberyard, mobile, etc.) to assist in the prototyping, building, testing, and deployment of gaming applications
- Designer: using common 3D modeling skills (MAYA, Z-Brusch, 3DS Max, etc.) to create 3D assets and texturing, curate imagery for reference material, building high and low poly models, etc.
- QA: run assigned test requests and identify game issues, enter issues into bug tracking system, test and verify bug fixes and provide feedback

Course Outcome – After this course the student should have received real-world experience in the Esports industry and a better understanding of how the industry works, what companies are looking for, and where they should be looking to further their career goals.

Choose at least three of the following elective courses to complete the Esports Minor with a concentration in coaching:

Sports Psychology (PSYC course)
Coaching for Success (being developed in EDUC)
Competitive Gaming Culture (to be developed)
- Where do gamers congregate
- Similarities and differences in Esports vs gaming/sports
- Is an Esports player an athlete?
- Cultural issues
- Sportsmanship
Esports Law/Contract Management (needs development)
- Player issues
- Labor laws
- Tax issues
Game Design (not coding; needs development)
COMSC 3371 – Introduction to Data Analytics
Data analytics is a process that turns data into usable information for answering questions. This course will introduce the process of acquiring, managing and analyzing data. Readily available real-world data sets will be analyzed using supervised and unsupervised learning methods.
COMSC 3372 – Data Visualization
Appropriate visualizations of data are a key to revealing patterns and communicating important findings in research. This course will build on statistical and analytical thinking by emphasizing the role and use of visualizations in the analysis of data. Theories, techniques and software for managing, exploring, analyzing, displaying and communicating information about various types of data will be introduced. Visualizations will be produced using readily available real-world data sets. Prerequisites: MATH 2435, or MATH 3332, or MATH 3450, or PSYC 3433, or instructor approval.
INST 3355 – Intercultural Issues
A survey of world cultures, the factors distinguishing them from one another and the impact that cultural differences have on international relations. Special emphasis is placed on current cultural issues of major concern to the international community. Prerequisite: INST 1351 or permission of faculty member.
COMM 2350 – Interpersonal Communication
Communication Theory, research and practice associated with dyadic interaction. Concepts include disclosure, attraction, relational control, power and inclusion.
COMM 4375 – Media Ethics
A systematic, case–study approach to moral dilemmas encountered by media practitioners, including questions of truth, privacy, confidentiality and conflicts of interest. Prerequisites: junior standing or permission of faculty member; PHIL 2314.

*These courses will remain the core of other minors that we may create in this area

400X300_eSports_Gaming Our Esports program is aimed at providing an opportunity for students regardless of race, gender and sexuality the ability to be a part of a community that allows them to connect with other students through a shared interest or passion in video games. Through this community, we want to offer our students the capability to represent their school in a competitive manner by joining our varsity program.

400X300_eSports_Sequence Semester 1

Introduction to Esports
Elective 1 - Sports Psychology (PSYC)

Semester 2

Elective 2 - Coaching for Success (EDUC)
Elective 3 - Data Analytics (COMSC 3371)

Semester 3

Contemporary Issues in Esports
Experiential Learning – Internship

Esports

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