This weekend, Baylor University’s Hurd Welcome Center was taken over by middle and high schoolers from around the state, competing in the Fall Texas Esports League Finals.
For those involved, the weekend was about more than just trophies.
The Mark & Paula Hurd Welcome Center ballroom took on a slightly different look this weekend, with hundreds of students darting in and out of the dark room. The only lights came from LED computer screens and projected video games.
Rows of computers line the room and jubilant cheers come from the spectators and coaches watching over shoulders.
50 schools competed in the competition Saturday and Sunday, ending in state championships across eight different games.
“Being able to really showcase this nice big trophy that’s got your name on it alongside things like basketball and football. It's like you get to walk by that trophy case at your school and go “oh, I did that," said Paul Todkill, head of marketing for Vanta.
With the rise in popularity of esports in recent years, he says that opportunities like these help kids not only connect with their passions, but their teammates as well.
“I mean absolutely you can sit down, you can play an RPG, you can play a single player game. But for more of these kids, gaming as much as anything is their social outlet," Todkill said. "We bring kids together. 80% of kids who participate in these clubs show having better friendships than before they were participating.”
While the Texas’ high school sports body, the University Interscholastic League does not recognize Esports as an official UIL sport, it has partnered with Vanta to provide middle and high school leagues for Texas schools.
Vanta is an online platform that hosts esports leagues and tournaments at no-cost to schools and teams. For a sport that can already be expensive to set up, Todkill said this can help lower costs.
"So you can have as many students across as many teams across as many games," he said. "So we try to break down those barriers to entry as much as we can.”
Baylor University co-sponsored the event. This was Baylor’s first esports event on campus and Vice President of Marketing, Jason Cook, said this event plays into a bigger push to grow the computer science and engineering program.
"E-sports is right in the sweet spot for prospective students, for engineering and computer science," Cook said. "So, obviously, we see this as a tremendous new pipeline to get students to come to Baylor."
Cook says Baylor is now working with its own esports team, OSO Esports to begin providing recruitment and scholarship support.
