6 minute read
AHS Grad Takes Gaming to a Collegiate Level
Over 170 universities and colleges in the United States are members of the National Association of Collegiate Esports and offer officially recognized varsity status and scholarships to players. There are more than 30 U.S. colleges and universities that offer scholarships for gamers, according to scholarships.com. Professional players can earn a salary anywhere from $12,000 a year to over $400,000 depending on their ranking and the professional team they are on. Argyle High School 2021 graduate Jefferson Arrington has always had a love for playing the PC game Overwatch and combined with his focus on academics he has turned his love for gaming into a collegiate level opportunity.
He is Argyle ISD’s first graduate to play on a varsity collegiate scholarship-level esports team. He plays Main Support on the University of Oklahoma's Varsity Overwatch Team coached by Joshua Riesenberg. Finishing his first year at OU, Jefferson is a Biology Major, in the OU Scholars Program and has spent most of his time studying, running a small business, and doing something he really enjoys, which is playing Overwatch.
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He began playing when he was around 14 years old. He chose to play Overwatch because it had just recently been released and he found interest in learning how to play it and he loves problem-solving. At his best rank, he has been at the highest level of Grandmaster with an SR of 4150. When asked how long it took him to get to this rank he said it took about three years of work. He started playing in his free time after school and on the weekends but made sure he had balance in his life by being involved in other activities. After deciding to attend the University of Oklahoma Jefferson did some research on their Esports Program and was impressed with the Esports community, he knew immediately that he wanted to be a part of their team. When asked what he likes most about being on the team he said that it is definitely the community behind the team. “It is nice having a group of friends who all have the same interests and goals,” said Jefferson. He also said he hopes to encourage other students to work toward their goals and know that they can be a part of a collegiate gaming team as well.
Jefferson said that his team usually scrimmages three to four times a week at about two hours per scrimmage but the amount can vary depending on if they have tournaments or competitions coming up. “One of my favorite memories that I will take away from this year will be the recent trip our team took to The University of Kentucky to compete, where we placed 5th overall.” There are six players on the OU Varsity Overwatch Team, but he said they are scouting for more players right now and have a few recruits so they hope to have a larger team next school year. “It is important to me to be a part of this team because I feel like I am helping to grow the program and I feel honored to be representing the University of Oklahoma,” said Jefferson. When asked what the benefits are of being on a collegiate team Jefferson said that it can prepare you for a chance to go professional after college, it can help you with your communication skills, leadership, and the college scholarships that are offered are very beneficial.
Michael Aguilar, the Director of Esports and Co-Curricular Innovation at The University of Oklahoma stated that OU started its Esports program in 2016. Michael Aguilar knew he wanted to focus on community first when building the program. He said that gaming has been a part of his life since the mid-80s. The Esports community is now one of the largest communities on the campus at The University of Oklahoma with just over 2,700 members. Within the Esports community at OU there are six pillars of development. The six pillars are Leadership, Community, Media & News, Production, Streaming Entertainment, and Intercollegiate Sports. “While I’ve found many of our peers across the space have an exclusive emphasis on the intercollegiate esports aspects, I wanted to promote a path to industry versus a path to pro. In doing so it allows for a ton of students to get involved versus the small numbers that make up the team rosters themselves. Each of these pillars can be found as components that make the gaming community and Esports entertainment a reality when fans consume the content.”
Photo courtesy of OU Esports Facebook Page
Within the Intercollegiate Esports Pillar, OU awards scholarships to members of the following teams: League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, and Valorant. These teams are their four scholarship varsity teams. During the 2021 - 2022 school year the University of Oklahoma awarded just over $100,000 in scholarships. According to Michael Aguliar, this is their baseline minimum and says their goal is to grow it every year.
For programs and pillars under scholarship, they are enabling travel to compete, travel to cover, and travel to support. “This affords all 6 pillars in the Esports community the opportunities that are translatable experiences in the mission of higher education to create dynamic and marketable students for today and tomorrow’s workforce in and outside of the topic of Esports. This can look like sending a team to another university just like athletics to compete or sending a media or news team to cover an event or conference or collaborating with other entities to put on high impact events like we just did with McDonald’s and OU Athletics for Oklahoma middle and high school students. On that note, official school programs across the DFW area are about to get a formal invite to a tournament event this Fall. Stay Tuned!” said Aguilar. ensure that the word “student” is not lost or cast aside when referencing our student-athletes and program roster.”
When asked how middle school or high school students can begin preparing to try out for a collegiate team and what they can do to prepare, Mike Aguilar stated that they must be a student first and never forget their academic mission. He said to balance game time with social life, physical activity, and studies. “Gamers are problem solvers, we understand how to overcome challenges, and we struggle to apply that to real-life often.” He advises students to start putting together their highlight clips and building a highlight reel that can be sent to schools that are recruiting. “Get good grades on your report cards so you can get that university logo on your chest and fuel your journey. Outside of that rallying cry, the ability to communicate is critical to being on a team. Gaming and esports with structure is a formidable topic to inspire youth in many ways. This is not about supporting kids playing 12 hours of video games a day. It’s about leveraging this topic to meet the evolving differences in our generations, innovate educational pipelines and develop marketable and employable professionals for today and tomorrow.”
Director Mike Aguilar stated that the expectations of the players on the OU Esports teams are to enforce that they will win and lose AS A TEAM. He promotes sportsmanlike conduct, professional decorum, and proper representation of The University of Oklahoma. Recently OU posted its first department-wide report card where it showed that the Esports scholarship students averaged a 3.34-grade point average. ‘We want to
If you would like to learn more about The University of Oklahoma’s Esports Program you can email esports@ou.edu or visit them online at www.ou.edu/esports/solidus to learn more about their program, scholarship namesake fund, why it exists, who it honors and how to contribute.
