University of Saint Joseph to offer esports classes
Will immerse students in the professional video game business
WEST HARTFORD — The University of Saint Joseph made a bit of a splash when it hired Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun in 2018 to lead its men’s basketball team. And it seems like the school continues to try and stay ahead of the game when it comes to other competitions.
Students at USJ can now choose to concentrate their focus in the growing field of esports, the school announcd this week.
Whether that means being a professional esports coach, an event manager, marketer, or broadcaster, it’s a new way to break into the popular world of professional video games that’s estimated to be worth billions of dollars.
Janet Howes, an assistant professor of business administration and the director of the university’s sport management and promotion program, said esports are a growing trend, which is why the school opted to add three esport-focused classes to its business administration department.
“We have students who are gamers and we just thought it’s time to add it,” Howes said. “We have sports management, we do event management, we do facility management. Esports just fits into that. We’re teaching students how to run major events, so why not add esports into that.”
This doesn’t mean students will be gaming in class, though. Rather, students will learn the ins and outs of what it takes to run, market, and participate in esports events. Major events and esports championships for games like League of Legends, Valorant, Apex Legends,
Counter-Strike and more are held throughout the United States and internationally, each with prize pools in the millions of dollars.
Howes said it’s great if students who take the classes are gamers themselves, but it’s not totally necessary. She uses herself as an example of that.
“I tell my students: I’m not an athlete, but I’ve worked three Olympic games and the X Games,” Howes said. “You can do these things even if you don’t play the sport and that’s what I want the students to learn. You can be part of esports even if you don’t play the video games.”
In Connecticut, Albertus Magnus College, the University of New Haven, Post University, Sacred Heart University, and Central Connecticut State University also have esports programs.
Locally, both of West Hartford’s public high schools have flourishing esports teams, with Conard
High School and Hall High School both making successful runs at a state championship.
“Who thought this was going to be around 20 years ago?” Howes said.
“We want students to get as many skills as they can, so when they go out they’ll have as many opportunities as they can. We’re very excited about this.”
Howes said that enrollment
for classes, which start in the fall, is now open. The classes are open for all University of Saint Joseph students, not just business or sports management students.