Goldey-Beacom has announced Esports, one of the rising programs in intercollegiate athletics, will be added starting in the 2023-24 academic year as the College's 14th sport.
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"We are very excited to be adding Esports to the offerings of the College," Director of Athletics Jeremy Benoit said. "Esports can be something that is difficult for people to grasp as a 'sport.'Â Because of that, many institutions house it outside of Athletics in departments like Student Affairs as a club program. Â At GBC, we intend to offer this under the arm of the Department of Athletics to provide the greater logistical support that the sport will require to become a premier program in the region."
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The College has committed to renovating one of its existing computer labs in the Fulmer Center into an Esports arena with upgrades to the current technology in the area as well as all new furniture, branding, and equipment specific to Esports. Â This will provide the student-athletes with their own dedicated competitive space.
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While Esports is not yet recognized by the NCAA as an official sport, Goldey-Beacom will offer competitive athletic scholarships to prospective students to compete in the sport as it does for its other 13 offerings. Â These scholarships, combined with the already-slashed tuition, will provide a tremendous opportunity for Esports student-athletes to receive higher education at a very affordable rate.
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"We're going to look to capitalize on the great programs that already exist in the state of Delaware to help lay the foundation for this program," Benoit adds. "Students in programs like the ones at Saint Mark's, AI Dupont and Caesar Rodney (High Schools) are going to have an opportunity to come to GBC and have a great student-athlete experience while taking part in the inaugural year of the program."
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A national search will commence to find a head coach, who also will assist the department in digital media.
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The co-ed sport has been an attractive addition for many schools and brings together the competitive nature of several games, including Rocket League, Overwatch and League of Legends to name a few. Twitch and YouTube serve as avenues to help promote the games and bring increased attention to the lucrative business.
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Statista.com reported a worldwide revenue from Esports of over 1.1 billion USD in 2021 and estimates it will generate over 1.8 billion USD in 2025. NCSA College Recruiting reports 175 Colleges and Universities are members of the National Association of Collegiate Esports, a non-profit organization which formed in 2016. NACE schools comprise of over 5,000 student-athletes and over 16 million USD combined in Esports scholarships and aid.
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Regarding viewership, Digitaltrends.com reports a projected 29.6 viewers of Esports in 2022. If accurate, that would an 11.5 percent increase from 2021.
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