Have you ever dreamed of representing your college in an intense, high-stakes competition without ever leaving your gaming chair? Well, with SHU’s club Esports team, you can. With casual or competitive gaming options, you can choose from over a dozen games to play.
“One of our club’s biggest challenges is that people just don’t know about it,” said Prof. Sam Schelfhout, head coach of SHU club esports.
The current roster has over 60 students and continues to grow. The team competes in five games: Rocket League, League of Legends, Valorant, Super Smash Brothers and Overwatch.
“Being a part of esports has been an extremely fun and rewarding experience for me,” said junior Ryan Shaker. “I’ve met a lot of great people and close friends through the club.”
“I have been a part of SHU esports for three years now, and I absolutely love it,” said junior Kristian Courville.
Just like any other athletic team, the esports team practices one to two times per week and competes in one match per week.
Source: Tracy Deer-Mirek, Sacred Heart University
“A common misconception that I see about esports is the importance of practice and team play,” said Shaker. “Often, I have heard confused reactions when I have told people how we actually have practices and scrimmages competing in video games.”
“Esports takes as much commitment, strategy and teamwork as traditional sports,” said junior Brandon Moore, captain of the club esports team.
The team competes in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) as well as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
“It’s been a bit of a challenge for us because the teams in the MAAC are a lot better than what we’re used to in our other league, the ECAC,” said Schelfhout. “But the support from the MAAC has been awesome. It’s cool to meet other schools that are close to us and share the same interests.”
In the fall of 2020, Sacred Heart started offering esports as a minor. While not everyone on the club team is an esports minor, the program is designed to explore the esports industry.
“I am not minoring in esports, but I have taken the Capstone in esports class with Prof. Schelfhout, which was a fun hands-on experience,” said Shaker.
“It’s a great way of developing skills in sports management, event management and marketing,” said Schelfhout. “Also, a huge benefit is getting that course work in esports while learning about the industry, the opportunities and all the types of different careers.”
Other institutions, such as Fairfield University, Quinnipiac University, and the University of Connecticut, offer Esports programs as well.
“The challenge now is trying to figure out what sets us apart, how do we develop this competitive advantage to attract high school students to attend SHU for esports,” said Schelfhout.
Every spring, Sacred Heart hosts an on-campus tournament called the Connecticut esports Showcase. Universities throughout Connecticut come for an exciting matchup.
“It’s always a great experience for the players, and we have had audiences come to watch in the past few years,” said Shaker.
The esports program SHU offers hopes to keep developing and has no plans of slowing down.
“Esports is a rapidly growing industry, with millions of people across the United States, the world is tuning in to experience it,” said Schelfhout.
