Esports on the Rise at Universities
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MN (OnFocus) – Marshfield native and Columbus Catholic Class of 2020 graduate Jonah Keffer just captained the University of Minnesota Rocket League team to a huge tournament win. The victory results in a split of $10,000 in scholarship money between him and his two teammates, Ben Nylund and Braden Raddatz (who go by “Chez” and “Rad” online).
Rocket League is a video game where players drive cars in a hockey style arena and move a ball toward an opponent’s goal. Keffer, who goes by the “gamer tag” of “Mom,” has been playing Rocket League for about seven years and has allotted around 5,000 hours on the game.
“I don’t think I ever really flipped a switch and decided to play competitive, it was more so a progression,” he said. “Eventually my skill rose to a point where people were asking me to play in small tournaments with them and it really just built from there. Next thing I know I’m playing competitively for my school in large $25,000 tournaments. It was more of a ‘Hey I’m pretty good at this game, might as well compete’ kind of feeling. That being said, now that I am in the competitive scene there is now an itch that I can’t quite scratch unless I’m competing in tournaments.”
To get on the University’s Rocket League team, students try out as they would with other sports.
“Our Rocket League Club held tryouts and we picked the best starting roster we could find. The rest of the students who try out but don’t make the cut get placed on one of our other competitive teams. This year we have 10 rosters of 3 competing,” explained Keffer.
“The work involved is the same as any other sport,” he added. “My team and I have two different leagues that we play in right now every Monday and Tuesday night, we watch replays every Wednesday, we scrimmage/practice against other schools every Thursday, and every weekend we have larger tournaments like this BIG10 tournament. This does not even include the time that each of us put in individually. Each of us work incredibly hard and it feels amazing to see it paying off.”
The Partnership Between Esports and Athletics
“This was a huge, huge win for the team,” said Doug Goon, Assistant AD/Athletics Information Technology at the University of Minnesota. “This win really affirmed for Jonah and the other students all the time and energy they’ve been putting into practice.”
Goon explained that after the team’s captain had to step down for medical reasons, Keffer took on the role of Captain, arranging scrimmages, conducting post-game interviews, and being the team motivator during a challenging time of growth.
“Jonah, he stepped up big. He’s really just worn the ‘C’ on his jersey so to speak and demonstrated the next man up mentality better than anyone else has,” said Goon. “There’s a lot to being a captain and Jonah has exceeded all my expectations there. This was a monster win for our school.”
Goon oversees the IT staff and service desk, who provide support for all Athletics staff and facilities, and acts as liaison for interdepartmental projects. He has over 10 years of IT experience at the University of Minnesota and is spearheading efforts to propel the University of Minnesota’s eSports program into a nationally-recognized endeavor.
“My role with esports has evolved organically. It’s been a slow-moving, multi-year process,” he explained. “The esports club itself has over 2500 students. It’s a well-structured governing body, RSO-registered student organization that has been in existence for several years.”
Data suggests that youth, who are more comfortable than ever with screens, are trending towards eSports over traditional sports. With several competition titles and a growing interest in both competing and producing eSports, Goon said that the program has grown exponentially in recent years, garnering a need for a more formal existence. While many schools place eSports into the “club” or “student life” categories, the University of Minnesota is championing it on a level equal to traditional athletics.
“It’s still new so no one knows the right way to do it. Minnestoa is taking the full eSports ecosystem approach, rather than focusing on just one area.” said Goon, adding that there isn’t an equivalent to the NCAA or BIG10 in esports…yet.
Embracing Esports at the Collegiate Level
For the esports critics, Keffer encourages keeping an open mind.
“I think most people bash esports because it’s new and seems crazy,” said Keffer. “Most people grew up just playing video games for some fun every now and then. Video games were simple back then. It’s really easy to see something and immediately be opposed to it just because it seems foreign. It’s much harder to try it out and develop real reasons for why you think it shouldn’t be considered a sport rather than lazily just saying ‘no’. I strongly encourage anyone who feels this way to at least give it a shot or do some research and watch my team play and truly consider why you may think it shouldn’t be a sport. I played soccer in high school and I can assure you esports are real sports. It requires just as much time, effort, sacrifice, and skill as stereotypical sports.”
Video of the College Contender Series can be found on the Twitch App on the WSDMgaming site where it was broadcast live (click here).
With Division 2 and 3 schools currently dominating the eSports arena, Goon hopes that Minnesota can be a leader in bringing eSports to Division 1 schools.
“As a school, it can be an educational tool and it can be a competitive program. There is a huge value to students,” said Goon. “eSports is definitely growing in popularity and the majority of institutions are not doing it like the University of Minnesota. At U of M, it’s very much the future. We’re going to treat them no differently than our student athletes. To use the sports analogy: we’re skating to where the puck is going.”
“With anything in life, the more time you put into something the better you will be,” added Keffer. “It really is as simple as that. I think the best way to approach playing competitively is to sit back and enjoy the game you are playing, play when you want to play, and play what you want to play. If playing competitively is truly your passion it will happen. As I said earlier, I never really flicked a switch and decided to start playing competitively. I genuinely enjoyed what I was doing and because of that I just naturally put in the hours required to become competitive.”
He added that the kind of people who successfully become collegiate competitors are the people who have drive and passion – not the people who tell themselves it is what they want to do.
“If you are thinking you may want to compete, it’s important to realize you don’t have to be the best of the best and it’s important to be okay with that. There is plenty of room for amateur tournaments if you don’t have the time or passion to put into the highest level of competitive play,” he said.
Esports opportunities for students extend beyond competing, encompassing many academic areas.
“Esports being so new and unregulated, there is a lot of opportunity for students to get involved in things. For example, when we do a broadcast, students can get experience doing broadcasting, controls, video production, graphics – all of those needs,” said Goon. “We are starting up courses online and there are a couple of other ones coming down the pipeline, with the possibility of a certificate program.”
He added that as a University, the focus is academics. For students considering a career in the esports industry (whether competitor or production), gaining personal experience at the university provides a gateway to two major professional organizations located right in Minnesota:
“Gopher esports is built different. Athletics is a strong supporter. I believe in esports and whether people like it or not that is the future. High School leagues are exploding. I could spend days dreaming of the endless opportunities once we have our pipeline built,” he said. “For a lot of students, esports provides a positive community. It’s a home for many people and U of M prides ourselves on diversity and inclusion and there’s a lot of overlap with that messaging and supporting esports.”
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Author: Breanna Butler
Breanna Butler is an award-winning multimedia producer born and raised in Central Wisconsin. She enjoys exploring and writing about the community. She lives in Marshfield with her husband and furry family.
