5 minute read
GAMING ON A COMPETITIVE LEVEL
COLLEGIATE ESPORTS: LEARN BY DOING
Dunwoody has officially joined the highly-popular world of competitive online gaming with an official esports team, which embraces the College’s mission of learning by doing. Dunwoody’s Esports team will compete against other college and university teams in Call of Duty, League of Legends, Rocket League, and Valorant.
“The creation of an esports team is a great fit for Dunwoody. This team will allow our students to bridge STEM academic foundations with sports,” said Scott Stallman, Provost of Dunwoody College of Technology. “Esports are a great opportunity for students who are looking to explore new opportunities that allow them to think strategically, while learning new skills and building connections across campus and the entire esports community.”
Extreme Networks Inc. reports that esports programs help to improve campus experiences and to boost overall student recruitment and retention. Dunwoody students interested in joining the esports team participated in team tryouts last semester and have begun preseason scrimmages.
MEET DUNWOODY’S NEW ESPORTS COORDINATOR: ERIK ALEXANDER
A 2016 graduate of Dunwoody’s Web Programming & Database Development program, Erik Alexander has returned to his alma mater to launch the College’s first-ever competitive video gaming program.
Prior to taking on this new position in September 2022, Alexander worked extensively in the field. He is the founder and president of Era Sports, Inc., an esports tournament app he started while still in school.
“Era evolved into much more than a platform company as we built a space for ourselves in the burgeoning local industry,” Alexander said.
Era is comprised of a team of seven people along with several contract developers. The company currently holds four patents, three issued and one pending.
In addition to founding his own esports company, Alexander has worked as a consultant in the field, providing technical support and advice on navigating the local esports space. He has helped organize fundraising tournaments and served on the Board of Directors for Minnesota’s first esports nonprofit — Minnesota Esports Club. Alexander said he enjoys launching new initiatives and tackling new challenges and was thrilled when he discovered that Dunwoody would be joining other colleges and universities in this highly popular sport.
A member of the Dunwoody Alumni Board, Alexander stayed involved in the College before taking on this new full-time position.
“Dunwoody gave me the skills needed to find my place in esports and help form the industry here in Minnesota,” he said. “I have learned the importance of relationships first and foremost while navigating the environment.”
THE HAWKS: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS
Dunwoody is excited to introduce students, alumni, faculty, and community members to the Hawks, a new mascot for their first-ever esports team, campus life, and student activities. The creation of the hawk mascot embodies the pride, dedication, and creativity of Dunwoody’s community.
Hawks have been living on Dunwoody’s campus for more than a century and the mascot design was inspired by a photo of a hawk that lives there.
BUILDING THE ARENA:
This October, Dunwoody opened the doors to the Hawks Nest, a high-performance gaming arena located on the ground floor of campus. Housed in the former Bennett Room, the space was converted during the summer months and now features 18 state-of-the-art gaming stations for competitive play.
Each station is equipped with high-end gaming equipment, including: HP Omen 45L gaming computers and displays, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards, and Hyper-X accessories.
FORMING THE TEAMS:
Organized as an extra-curricular activity, Dunwoody first conducted a student survey to gauge interest and determine which online games the College would compete in. The response was overwhelming. In fact, 20 percent of the student body indicated some interest in participating.
Based on the results, the College selected Call of Duty, League of Legends, Valorant, and Rocket League to compete in, and joined the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC), along with the Valorant League, cVal, and Call of Duty league, CCL.
Tryouts for the varsity and junior varsity teams for each of the four games were held during the fall with the final teams announced at the end of the semester. Each team is comprised of three to five students, depending on the game.
In addition to players, the Esports program includes other opportunities for students to become involved, including as coaches, “shoutcasters,” social media content creators, and graphic designers. Club activities are also being organized for those who just want to play for fun.
Follow the Teams on Twitch: www.twitch.tv/dunwoodyhawksesports
