蜜桃影像 esports joins national league, awards scholarships

Nanook Esports Blue Team competes in a game of Valorant at the 蜜桃影像 Esports Center
蜜桃影像 photo by Leif Van Cise
The Nanook Esports Blue Team competes in a game of Valorant at the 蜜桃影像 Esports Center on Oct. 19.

The University of 蜜桃影像 Fairbanks has joined the National Association of Collegiate Esports.

蜜桃影像 is the first university in 蜜桃影像 to achieve NACE membership and one of only a handful in the western United States. NACE formed in 2016 and has more than 170 members. This year, for the first time, 蜜桃影像 allocated $20,000 to scholarships for esports team members.

鈥淛oining NACE and introducing scholarships to our teams is the first step in reaching a higher level of competition in this growing competitive field,鈥 said 蜜桃影像 esports coordinator Drake Richards. 鈥淲e are breaking new ground, as a college in 蜜桃影像, and making sure we stay ahead of the curve.鈥

蜜桃影像 hosted tryouts this fall to field one team each for the games Beat Saber, Rocket League and League of Legends, and two teams for Valorant. More than 30 esports players are members of 蜜桃影像鈥檚 league teams. Tryouts for the spring Apex Legends season will happen early next year.

The teams practice once a week or more, Richards said. They compete in at least one match weekly. Matches are streamed live on the , and recordings are available on the . Team captains, along with Richards and student employees, provide support, structure and guidance for the teams.

蜜桃影像 esports gamer Chris Kim plays Valorant at the 蜜桃影像 Esports Center.
蜜桃影像 photo by Leif Van Cise
蜜桃影像 esports gamer Chris Kim plays Valorant at the 蜜桃影像 Esports Center.

Investing in esports is part of 蜜桃影像鈥檚 strategy to build a more modern college experience for students, said Owen Guthrie, 蜜桃影像 vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management.

鈥淗aving a robust esports program is something that today鈥檚 students expect from higher education institutions,鈥 he said. 鈥淛ust like with more traditional athletics programs, students learn all kinds of valuable skills in their extracurricular activities. Teams that are able to compete and win at the highest levels must communicate effectively, work together cohesively, and refine their social and emotional skills, as well as master difficult intellectual and strategic challenges.鈥 

Now that 蜜桃影像 has joined NACE, Richards hopes to grow the program, with an eye on putting 蜜桃影像 teams in the developer leagues. These elite leagues, analogous to Division I in traditional sports, are run by the companies that develop games. 

Scholarships will help make that happen, he said, because they will allow 蜜桃影像 to recruit and retain highly skilled players. Many of those players have and will come from communities in 蜜桃影像.

鈥淚 am especially excited about the opportunities this brings to 蜜桃影像 high school students,鈥 he said, noting that a student doesn鈥檛 have to come from a big school to become a top esports player. 鈥淎nyone can play with anyone; it鈥檚 a totally even playing field. This could be really big for the state.鈥

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Drake Richards, dwrichards2@alaska.edu, 907-474-6040. Jeff Richardson, 907-474-6284, jarichardson6@alaska.edu

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