This spring semester it’s “game on” for the entire John Jay College community. The Department of Athletics, Recreation, and Intramurals is launching a new esports program, opening up video gaming competition and team experiences to everyone at John Jay. Anyone with a John Jay email address—including part-time and full-time undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and administration—can join in the fun of an all-inclusive gaming experience, competing as a single player or in teams, with 10 game titles. The College joins a growing list of over 180 colleges across the United States—including other CUNY colleges—adding esports to its collegiate programming lineup. “Esports opens up a whole new world of opportunity for everyone in our John Jay community,” says Catherine “Cat” Alves, Deputy Director of Athletics, Recreation and Intramurals, discussing the inclusive and social nature of esports. “It engages students we don’t usually see in our facilities or coming to our games, and that’s what we want to do, especially in our current distance-learning environment. Esports says, we’re all Bloodhounds and we get to do this together.”

Over the last five years, the esports industry has seen its popularity rise with the market’s worth expected to surpass the $1.8 billion mark by 2022, according to Newzoo, a global provider of gaming and esports analytics. Beyond that, esports is making waves in schools across the U.S. (K-12 and higher education), not only because of its ability to connect students and promote equity but also because of the academic and personal benefits produced by participating in the program. Students involved in esports programming experience a boost in self-confidence, improved communications, problem solving and strategy skills development, and increased engagement, attention, and visual acuity in the classroom. A 2019 survey found that esports programs provide students with an improved overall learning experience, diversifies extracurricular activities, and fosters interest in STEM programming. And, it’s proven to be good for higher education as well. “Research shows that esports help increase enrollment and retention rates at institutions,” says Alves, “especially for smaller colleges. Competing in esports creates excitement for students. They feel motivated to come to school and get good grades because they want to be able to compete. That desire to perform at a higher level and do well leads students to be fully engaged in their learning experience.”

We sat down with Alves, as well as Mark Francis, Interim Director of Athletics, Recreation, and Intramurals, and Leszek Stankiewicz, Recreation and Intramurals Manager, and Head Coach of John Jay’s Men and Women’s Volleyball team, to learn more about what the exciting new program has in store for our community.

For those of us who may not be familiar with esports, can you tell us about esports?

Stankiewicz: Esports is a form of competitive, organized sports where players compete using video games. Our program will have 10 different games, on different platforms, including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PCs. We want to get our entire College community engaged in our esports program. We want our students, faculty, and staff to participate and all they need to register is a John Jay email address. Registration is open through January 31, 2021.

Alves: Esports is also an evolving, fast-growing industry. A lot of colleges have been doing esports for about three to five years now. Our esports program comes under the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC), who we have a long-term relationship with from a varsity sports standpoint. Under ECAC, our esports program will be purely recreational for the Spring 2021 semester and our competitors will face off with other colleges in the Conference. ECAC will take care of registration and the rule books.

What led to the creation of John Jay’s esports program?

Alves: Early last year, I had just come back from a sports conference, an event I’ve been going to for 10 years, and there were thousands of people talking about esports. I thought gaming was just a hobby, but I realized during that event how it really is a booming industry. After returning to John Jay, our department began doing research on esports programs, what other colleges were doing with these programs, and the benefits of esports. We also wanted to get our students involved in the process, so we had our intern find gamers on campus. We wanted to figure out what they like to play and what their interests are.

Francis: Administratively, the process to create the esports program began before the pandemic, in the early part of the Spring 2020 semester, and it’s been an ongoing process ever since. We also have the support of Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Ellen Hartigan.

Alves: VP Hartigan has really helped us get the program going. When we went virtual, we realized esports was one of the few activities that could survive the pandemic without changing. Everyone can still compete, connect, and engage virtually. Our hope is to keep our students connected to the community and to each other through the esports program.

Are there any requirements in order to register and participate in the program?

Alves: During our research process, we saw how other colleges were keeping their programs wide open and that’s something we wanted to do. For students to participate, all they have to be is in good academic standing. They can be a full-time, part-time, undergraduate, or graduate student. Our program is also open to faculty, staff, and administrators. We hear that Provost Yi Li is a gamer, so we’d love to see him involved in the esports program.

Francis: My hope is that staff and faculty will team up with students, and that students will team up with staff and faculty. I think it will really strengthen the bonds between the different groups and within the College.

What games will the community have access to and is there a schedule already in place?

Stankiewicz: Our regular season play will be eight weeks long and we’ll start the season the first week of February and go all the way to the end of March. In April, post-season play will begin. We have 10 titles—Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Rocket League, Valorant, NBA 2k21, Overwatch, Fortnite, Hearthstone, and League of Legends. Some of the games are played on Playstation4, X-Box One, or a PC, and one game is on Nintendo Switch. Our schedule has games set for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

What can the John Jay Community expect from the esports experience? How will it create a sense of community and sportsmanship?

Stankiewicz: I think they can expect being entertained, for sure. They’ll definitely make new friends and get the feeling of belonging again, which is something our students miss. Our main goal is to unite the John Jay community. We want to give everyone something enjoyable to do, besides studying and getting good grades. 

Francis: The adage, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” comes to mind. I think the idea that while being at home you can still participate as a team member and represent your institution is absolutely fantastic. This is a wonderful opportunity for our entire community, especially our students, to participate and connect with one another.

Alves: It definitely creates a greater opportunity to establish connection. Students want a sense of community, they want to say, “I’m a John Jay student competing with another John Jay student and we have this goal together.” Freshmen in particular, who have a tough time connecting when they first start college, get to interact with their peers in a different way through the esports program.

Can players communicate with one another while gaming?

Stankiewicz: Yes. Our gamers won’t be playing video games alone, they’ll actually be connected and communicating with other players using our Discord server, which is a communication tool. Through Discord, they can hear each other talking and laughing while playing the game, they can also form teams and strategize. They’re making friends with fellow competitors and talking to others, and that is something they look forward to, especially now when you cannot go into public spaces with others. I think it will have a positive impact on our students and our community.

Francis: I have a son who just graduated from college. During this last year he formed an esports team and the players are from all over the country—some are people he’s never personally met. It was really interesting to see how they all connected, conversed, and laughed with one another. It’s just like being at a game and being an athlete on the field. They’re cheering each other on and supporting each other.

What are your hopes for the Esports program? Do you plan to expand the program in the future?

Francis: The dream is to have a dedicated esports room on campus set up with special chairs, special computers, a huge screen, and a viewing area. That would be the ultimate dream, but we’ll take baby steps so that we can get there. 

Stankiewicz: One of my goals is to have a full, competing team on the ECAC level with a coach and trainer for players. That will be great to see.

Alves: Everything we do in Athletics is top notch. So, we’re going to take our time growing the program because we want a top-notch program for students. Personally, I can’t wait to see how we develop our own esports community and create our own set of values. I think what’s most exciting about esports is how it provides a new twist on the athletic experience. Our gamers will have training, they’ll have practice, and have expectations from a coach and supervisor. It’s going to be really fun to watch.

To register and participate in John Jay’s new esports program visit: https://johnjayathletics.com/esports