Ashley Jones, Park’s esports head coach
game on Fast. Complex. Exhilarating. Video games have come a long way since Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. debuted in the arcades of the 1980s. Today, video games demand extraordinary mental acuity — from critical thinking and decision-making to exacting attention, agility Winter 2019 - 10
and accuracy. That’s why esports — competitive tournament-style video gaming — is commanding respect as the fastest-growing collegiate sport, and why Park University is home to the first collegiate esports varsity team in the Kansas City metropolitan area. “The new esports team at Park marks the 16th varsity sport on Park’s roster of athletic programs — and the first coed sport,” said Claude English,
director of athletics, during the grand opening of the Parkade Battleground in February. The Parkade, located in the Mabee Learning Center/Academic Underground on the Parkville Campus, is outfitted with 16 state-ofthe-art gaming PCs. “The new esports program demonstrates Park’s leadership in the future of digital competition,” said Shane Smeed, vice president and chief operating officer. “Our
