Colleges Legitimize Esports | Why It Matters

Recently we completed our own survey of how many colleges and universities have Esports programs. I had a conversation with Jay Prescott, the founding director of the National Association of Esports Coaches and Directors (https://naecad.org) last month. When he started the esports program at Grand View University in Iowa, they were one of the first dozen colleges to formally have a competitive program. He launched NAECAD in part because he knew the demand for qualified coaches at the collegiate level would be enormous. He wasn’t wrong. Just four years later, we were able to identify 250 Universities and colleges with competitive esports teams. Of those schools, 80% (199 out of 250) offer some form of scholarship or tuition assistance. This is an incredible growth in just a few years.

To get a feel for just how widespread this is, check out the map image plotting out the colleges and schools with programming. Currently Ohio and Missouri are leading the pack in terms of the number of schools providing programming. Only 5 states were absent from the list, on average states have 5 higher education institutions offering esports programming.

What is even more interesting, around the same time that we completed our own survey, Dr. Anesa Hosein of the University of Surrey published her findings about young girls and video games. According to Dr. Hosein[1], girls ages of (13-14) who play 9 hours of video games a week were 3.3% more likely to pursue a college degree in the areas of physical science, engineering, art, or mathematics. Even more astonishing, those same girls were 58 times more likely to pursue a STEM degree than no degree at all.

Essentially, what we are seeing is that video games are becoming an important on-ramp for both girls and boys in college. What’s more, according to Courtney James at DePaul University in Chicago, 47% of students involved in esports programming in college pursued STEM degrees. Compare that to Division I athletics? We can’t because the NCAA refuses to report on the degrees college athletes get. They simply report graduation rates, but not degrees. Advertisement during football games likes to promote that fact that most student athletes will turn pro in something other than sports, but they rarely make clear what those degrees are.

While esports has a long way to go to catch up with the adoption of traditional sports, this growth is happening at a tremendous rate. Students from coast to coast are now seeing the chance to become involved in competitive video gaming at an increasing number of schools. As we have seen from the recent shortage of computers chips[2], and the corresponding massive investment – ($20 billion dollars alone here in Arizona[3]), the demand for high tech jobs is only increasing. When you look at the global economic macro trends – the massive winners financially over the last 12 months have been technology companies, many gaming companies among them. 

When we look at the future, perhaps we should change our narrative around video gaming. Is it possible that gaming could become essential? After all, is it any wonder that the people who love to play with technology are the people who are most interested in learning how to create it? Even our Universities and colleges have started to recognize the utility of promoting and supporting competitive gaming.

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References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563218304862
2. Shead, S. (2021, May 7). The global chip shortage is starting to have major real-world consequences. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/07/chip-shortage-is-starting-to-have-major-real-world-consequences.html

Blufish. (2021, March 30). Intel’s $20 billion Arizona expansion will bring 3,000 new high-wage jobs. AZ Big Media. https://azbigmedia.com/business/intels-20-billion-arizona-expansion-will-bring-3000-new-jobs/

When I started GameTruck, one of the things that was especially important to me was that the players played together. This is one of the reasons we only bring out multiplayer games for years. Later, when games like Fortnite became huge, we found a way to make those multiplayer as well. A party is about playing with your best friends. When we added Laser Tag, we focused on activities that could be played in teams. Like real life video games. We are always on the lookout for fun, safe, activities and now I am excited to share with you the latest fun celebration activity sweeping the GameTruck system: GellyBall!

GellyBall is a brilliant innovation on the water tag market. This clever little game is simple, fun, and fast paced and most of all it’s a great game to play with your friends.

Something fun for everyone

GellyBall is the latest in move and shoot team games. Think paintball without the pain and water guns without the mess. The game uses electric pistols that shoot “gelly balls”.  What is a GellyBall? A water pellet held together by surface tension and an infinitesimal amount of gel.  The pellets are 99% water. The battery powered shooters hold up to 750 pellets in their hopper and dispense pellets at a rate of 12 per second.  This means you don’t waste a lot of time reloading. Think of it as a “pixelated squirt gun”. Instead of a steady stream of “water” like a water blaster, you get better range and accuracy.  Just squeeze the trigger and you’re spraying your opponent with tiny pellets of water up to 40 feet away. When GellyBalls make contact, they burst releasing only water.  There is no mess, no stain, and they impact with more of a “Zap” than a “Sting”. 

Once players get their hands on a GellyBall gun and see how much fun it is, we find that kids and adults alike, want to play. All players are required to wear masks to  protecting their eyes and face. 

Easy to set up and clean up

A GellyBall party is fun and easy to setup. You don’t need a lot of space. Our expert staff will bring all the equipment, and plenty of GellyBalls for everyone to have enough for the entire party. The staff setup the obstacles (additional charges may apply), but they always bring the safety equipment, GellyBall guns, and plenty of Gellyballs. After a safety briefing where the players are shown how to use the equipment – they’re off! They can play last one standing, protect the president, or red vs blue. The GellyBalls make a satisfying sound as you tag out other players. And when the party is over, all the equipment goes back into the travel cases, is sanitized, and cleaned for the next party with no mess left behind. There are no paint stains, no lost plastic projectiles to sweep up, and no additional charges for ammo.

You can play indoor and outdoor

GellyBall really is flexible. Because it is essentially water in tiny amounts (each gun holds about a cup), you can play indoors or out. Of course, you don’t want to play in your house, but gymnasiums, multi-purpose rooms, and other activity-based venues are perfectly fine for GellyBall. Of course, people first tend to think of GellyBall outside, and after a year pretty much cooped up, GellyBall is a fantastic way to get your kids outside and moving. Few things do a heart good quit like seeing your kids moving about your hard with their friends having the time of their life. 

Takeaway: GellyBall is a great new fun, safe activity available from GameTruck!If there’s one thing, we do well at GameTruck, it is help people play together. GellyBall is a fantastic edition to that line up of games and activities that help players and parents make positive memories that last a lifetime. More than ever, people recognize the value of coming together to connect, play, and bond. If you want to know more about GellyBall you can find more information at GameTruck.com. Check it out, it’s already our fastest selling new offering in the history of the company.

We are entering that time of the year when the demand for GameTruck is at its peak. This year however we are seeing unprecedented demand. The idea of a private party with all your friends seems to be resonating with a lot of people. With demand so high however, it can be extremely challenging to get the time and date you want on the Calendar. But, with a little creativity and some flexibility – we can work together to make something amazing happen.

Stacey Knight, who is absolutely the queen of booking agents, is not only friendly and knowledgeable, she’s also creative and resourceful. To protect the innocent I have changed the names, but the facts of the story remain the same. Emily called looking for a party for her daughter. 

“Hi, this is Sarah’s mom. I am hoping to get onto the calendar for your outdoor LaserTag party. We need Saturday, sometime in the afternoon,” Emily told Stacey.

Stacey replies, “Happy to help; let’s take a look to see what we can do. How old are the kids?”

Emily, “Sarah is turning 13 and she’s more of a outdoor, sporty girl. But she isn’t into gaming.”

Within seconds Stacey locates the franchise closest to this parent and pulls up the calendar. Right away she sees demand is super high, the calendars are nearly full across the board. But creativity craves constraints. Stacey has an idea.

Stacey says to the mom, “Cool! Well, our LaserTag has already sold out for the afternoon times, we only have later evening around 7/7:30PM.”

Emily, is of course disappointed. She was already picturing her daughter and her friends roaming around the back yard playing LaserTag, “Oh really, darn,” She says. “I’m afraid it’ll be too late to host it!”

Drawing upon her own personal experience as a mom and a customer, Stacey shares her experience with Emily. “Not necessarily! I have girls and they LOVE our LaserTag! We’ve had a lot of birthday parties with the LaserTag.

Our favorite event was for my daughter, also named Sarah, for her Sweet 16! She has a November birthday and asked for a bonfire. So, I bought a bunch of Glow sticks, put them into a bowl & let the kids decorate themselves with the various sticks I bought just after Halloween, put together a Smore’s Table, Hot Chocolate Bar, ordered a bunch of pizza, and had beverages for the kids. The LaserTag team showed up, setup the field, and we had a GLOW PARTY! It was the best party, because it was darker and you couldn’t see the kids, but you could see these streaks of light running around.”

Emily’s ton is suddenly upbeat. Given a new vision for something memorable and unique, she’s re-energized. “Oh my gosh, I LOVE THAT!” But then she realizes it’s March. “Where am I going to find those GLOW STICKS!?”

Stacey has already pulled up a browser and is searching, “Let’s Google it real quick…here are a couple sites to check out.” She sends Emily the links. “And it looks like they have expedited shipping offered if you want them sooner!”

Emily is decisive, “Let’s do it!”

They booked the event and by all accounts had an absolutely fantastic time. 

Obviously getting our first choice is best, however some of our most memorable events have come from working with parents that are able to be creative and find times and dates that work. As we head into the busy months, experience shows that a little flexibility and creativity can make for an memorable celebration.