Mitchell College plans to offer Esports beginning this spring
Mitchell College students will have another competitive option next spring.
And they won't have to leave their dormitory/apartment/home to do it.
Esports will be added to Mitchell's athletics offerings starting next spring and will be open to all skill levels. Competitors will be video gaming instead of playing games on the field or in the gym.
Mitchell has formed a partnership with Maryland Esports Training Academy (META), which will operate the program and provide coaching, instruction and scheduling.
“We're excited,” interim athletic director Todd Peretz said. “It's new to us. We're excited about the fact that we're partnering with META and their track record and their proven success. It's like a turnkey operation. You turn it over to them and they run the whole thing. And they're really, really good at what they do.”
Peretz admits that he is still learning about the video gaming arena.
As the men's basketball coach, Peretz has overheard his players talking about playing video games. But he knows far more about old school Atari than Fortnite.
Peretz is well aware of the growing popularity of Esports, especially in the college world. Roughly 170 schools in the country offer the program.
It's a way to attract prospective students to Mitchell College, according to Peretz.
“Like anything else, you've got to be creative and you've got to move with the times, and you've got to provide programming for kids,” Peretz said. “It's not just that we can provide a basketball program or baseball program or softball team. Kids are diversified. Our current athletes have interest in this as well.
“It's just another way to make the overall college experience a little better. This has become a big, big thing across the country. ... Between some
“We have a gaming club on campus, so a lot of those kids are really, really excited about that transition going from a gaming club to an Esports team, which is great.”
TODD PERETZ, MITCHELL COLLEGE INTERIM ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
people in athletics, admissions and enrollment people, we're recruiting for Esports. It's another way in this climate to attract students.”
Mitchell College already has a video gaming community. About 75 students belong to a club that regularly runs events.
“We have a gaming club on campus, so a lot of those kids are really, really excited about that transition going from a gaming club to an Esports team, which is great,” Peretz said.
NECC is on board
The New England Collegiate Conference, which Mitchell belongs to, sponsored Esports for the first time this fall and held a postseason competition. It expects to have about 40 teams representing members from Division I, Division II, Division III and the junior college level in the spring.
Participants can compete in five different games, including Valorant, Overwatch, Madden, League of Legends and Rocket League.
“It's become very, very popular with the NECC...,” Peretz said. “You can actually have rosters within your campus for each specific game. So you don't have to just be an Esports team member and play everything.
“Just like any other sport, it becomes very selective and very focused. Some of these kids really are training and learning specifically for Rocket League or for Fortnite.”
The new Esports program seems suited for the current stay-at-home world. Traditional sports have suffered losses.
After losing spring and fall seasons due to COVID-19 related cancellations, the NECC recently called off the conference's winter season.
Mitchell has moved to remote learning for the remainder of the semester. All 12 sports teams are no longer practicing with finals underway.
Students are tentatively scheduled to return to campus on Jan. 20.
Peretz hopes teams will be able to return to practice once the second semester begins and also compete in some non-conference games.
“That's still to be determined,” Peretz said. “The institution makes the decision based on their communications with any type of local health district, whatever the state is mandating. We're not due to start classes until January 20th. That could change as well. There's so many things.
“That's the resiliency and the flexibility that we all have to have during these times. We have to shift very quickly. ... We hope to be back in person and practicing in January.”