Game On

Ashley Jones, Park’s esports head coach

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 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-of-the-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 investment is in line with the University’s foundation of innovation.”

Park’s esports head coach, Ashley Jones, who was recently named chair-elect to the board of directors for the National Association of Collegiate Esports, the governing body of varsity esports, said the program offers students more than online competitive gaming.

“Esports helps connect students across Park’s campus centers nationwide and online around the globe through the exhilarating experience of video gaming,” she said.

The team’s matches with colleges and universities across the country are streamed on the Park Athletics YouTube channel and can also be viewed on-demand afterward. Park is also developing its own Twitch channel for future streaming.

The growing popularity of Park’s esports reflects the excitement for the sport around the globe. For example, the 2018 League of Legends World Championship attracted more viewers than the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four combined, according to a report by market researcher Interpret. A report from Newzoo, a marketing research and analytics firm for video gaming, revealed that esports viewership is expected to exceed 453 million in 2019.

Park’s esports roster currently includes 20 players. In addition to League of Legends, the team also competes in Overwatch, a multiplayer first-person shooter video game, and Rocket League, a vehicular soccer video game.

The team practices three hours every weekday and competes in matches on Saturdays. Practices include the review of footage of past matches to identify strengths and areas for improvement.

To apply, students complete a recruiting form on the Park Athletics website with details including their preferred game, role and years of experience. Tryouts are held at the Parkade Battleground. All Park esports athletes are eligible for scholarships.

“Park’s esports athletes can take their invaluable gaming skills into their careers,” Jones said. “Much like in traditional sports, esports develops leadership, communication and teamwork skills that will be a tremendous asset to achieving their goals after graduation.”

Keep up with Park's esports team on Twitter @ParkEsports.

Cesar Duron, sophomore business administration/international business major, competes in a League of Legends match.

Gaming for life

A study of 33 laparoscopic surgeons at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York determined that those who played video games were 27 percent faster at advanced surgical procedures and made 37 percent fewer errors compared to those who did not play video games. (Journal of the American Medical Association)

Collect Them All

One of Park University’s esports biggest fans, President Greg Gunderson, Ph.D., sparked the idea for the team’s trading cards. The cards feature the student-athlete’s photo, name and summoner (onscreen) name along with gaming stats and favorite game quote. Each student-athlete, coach and staff member has a stack of cards to share with Pirates fans. The cards are available on game days inside the Parkade Battleground.