UA-Fort Smith esports teams find success through gaming
FORT SMITH — The first competitive season of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith’s esports program far surpassed expectations — both in gameplay success and in terms of participation — of both coaches, and team members are eyeing even better results this year.
In April, the program’s League of Legends Blue team finished in the top five of a tournament comprised of nearly 90 Southern universities, and the program had nearly 50 members for the spring semester, according to the coaches. In addition, through their play, team members are gaining recognition for the program and university, which will create interest and build a talent pipeline for the future.
“We’ve already had some other universities reach out [regarding our]” early success and how they might replicate it, said Cody Holt, one of the program’s coaches and an instructor at UAFS. “Just our [players] talking about the team does the recruiting for us, [because] people realize this is a university that gives opportunities” to students.
Program members have UAFS in their various social media and gaming handles, so when they play alongside gamers from all over the country, the program and university often become part of the conversation, said Rachel Rodemann Putman, UAFS director of communications. This is “invaluable recruiting for us, but it’s happening in a really organic way.”
The groundwork for building an esports program at the university actually began in the summer of 2021, but the spring semester was the first time they took gaming to the competition level against oth
er schools, according to the university.
The UAFS squad, which is actually comprised of several small teams dedicated to specific games like Pokemon, Valorant, League of Legends, Rocket League and Smash, calls the on-campus Baldor Technology Center home, unveiled team jerseys in late February and have access to topof-the-line equipment from Alienware.
Earlier this month, the Valorant Blue team finished second in the Red Bull Campus Clutch Delta Region tournament in Huntsville, Alabama. They qualified for the tournament with a victory in an event last month.
Senior RyLynd Bullington has thoroughly appreciated the level of support the program has received both from inside and outside the university, he said. That ranges from viewers watching matches through Twitch to the university and private companies assisting with equipment.
The UAFS esports team streams all matches, scrimmages and tournaments online through Twitch, according to UAFS. To follow their exploits and/or learn more about the team, search @UAFSDLeSPORTS on social media platforms.
Bullington, an electrical engineering major committed to a career in the aerospace industry, is captain of the Valorant Blue team, and he was interested in esports at UAFS because of his long history with video games.
“I’ve always played — I grew up in it — and loved it, but I was always competitive,” said Bullington. “It wasn’t just fun; I wanted to be the best.”
He was “immediately pulled in” by the “community” at an “open house” for the program his sophomore year, as well as the willingness of coaches to listen to input from players, he said. “It’s been awesome to watch [the program] grow and build relationships.”
Coaches intentionally give students plenty of room to direct the program, including making sure all team members maintain sportsmanship and unselfishness, said Holt. “We want to find the ‘right’ players who can work as a team, because none of these games can be won alone.”
TEAMWORK, NOT TOXICITY
The program also has no tolerance for the “toxic” culture that can at times permeate gaming, and “being inclusive is really important,” said coach Nicki Stancil, assistant professor, program lead of Media Communication at UAFS.
Stancil was a child gamer in the 80s — her dissertation was on video game subcultures — and she remains intrigued by the storylines of games and their evolution, as well as the way in which they can unleash “really creative sides of people, [but] we’re pretty candid about how we feel about toxic games and subcultures.”
Creating a program from scratch was challenging, “because we had no blueprint, really, and the bureaucratic side could be slow, so there was lots of trial and error,” she said. “I would’ve been glad to have 30” players at this stage, so when the team numbered four-dozen members this spring, she was “happy.”
Holt believes “about 60 or so would be about the upper limit of what I’d be comfortable with for the two of us” to coach, he said. The program has tryouts, so being accepted is no guarantee for those who apply.
Senior Ivan Welborn was already playing Valorant prior to joining the esports program at UAFS, and he’s committed to his team as captain of the Valorant White squad, he said. Despite the spring semester being exceptionally busy for him, he spent any free moments he had “playing the game.”
The computer science major has learned to delegate as captain, which was “once a big problem for me,” he said. He’s able to recognize strengths in his teammates, then assign them to roles based on those attributes.
He wants to be a video game developer, so gaining insight into video games through competitions can only enrich his understanding of the medium, he added. “Esports are still relatively in the baby stage, but are growing and getting more national recognition.”
In 2019, colleges offered $16 million in esports scholarships for students, and that figure has only grown as esports gain increased popularity, with hundreds of teams at universities nationwide.
‘A WONDERFUL COMMUNITY’
For Bullington, his first two years of college were more solitary experiences, but the esports team has given him “a wonderful community to be a part of,” he said. The Fort Smith native spends plenty of time with his teammates beyond practices and competitions, both to foster team chemistry and simply because they have become his friends.
“Some of my favorite time during the week is practicing and playing together,” he said. “I love playing with my team — [it’s] a new level of friendship and brotherhood — and look forward to it every week.”
“It’s a family,” seconded Welborn, who moved to Fort Smith from Colorado at age 12. “There’s always someone to play with if you want, and the people are incredible.”
Members of the program have become “a little cohort,” which extends beyond video games, said Stancil, who keeps close attention to academics, making sure the team meets the minimum GPA of 2.75. Team members often study together and help each other with schoolwork.
“It’s heartwarming to see,” Holt said. “They didn’t know one another” prior to joining the esports program, and “now they help each other.”
Like Bullington, Welborn emphasizes team chemistry through meet-ups, and he’s embraced his captain’s role as the decision-maker, he said. “I used to be pretty indecisive, but [now] I’m the person people look to.”
On match days, Bullington arrives at least an hour early to discuss strategy with teammates, and he’s the “in-game leader,” which means he’s the “shot-caller” during matches, he said. That requires quick reactions and “fast thinking in the moment,” which has made him “a lot quicker of a thinker,” not only for video games, but in other aspects of his life.
During matches, “we feed off of each other, which is really awesome,” he said. “It’s a good, positive energy.”
There’s been “a lot of personal development” with some team members who trended toward social awkwardness before joining the program, Holt said. “I’ve seen them come out of their shell.”
The coaches and players have built a “tolerant, safe space where everybody can be their best selves,” Putnam observed. “Real growth work has been done.”