Mark Cornelison | UKphoto
Members of the University of Kentucky’s esports club contributed to the design ofThe Cornerstone building, which includes a gaming lounge, 100-per- son esports arena, media room and other amenities.
Video gaming, once thought of primarily as child’s play, is now big business. Organized, competitive gaming, colloquially known as esports, has undergone a major transformation in recent years, with an influx of big financial players into the industry and a surge of professional players, tournaments, sponsors and development programs.
The shift can even be felt in Lexington, where the more than $1 billion industry is beginning to take hold with the launch of the University of Kentucky’s comprehensive esports program in 2019.
UK teamed up with international esports organization Gen.G for the program, one of only two schools in the United States that the company is partnered with, the other being Eastern Michigan University. According to Heath Price, UK’s associate chief information officer and a leader of the university’s esports program, the aim of the partnership is to expand classroom and internship opportunities related to esports, while also providing professional development and new research methods for scholars.
Additionally, Gen.G has pledged $100,000 annually for the next 10 years to a scholarship fund open to students majoring in gaming, esports, entrepreneurship, journalism and related fields.
“Esports today act as a portal, in many cases more than traditional sports, to how our students communicate and view the world,” Price said. “That doesn’t mean that all of our students are hardcore gamers, but it does likely mean that they all play games to some degree.”
1 of 2
Mark Cornelison | UKphoto
2 of 2
Pete Comparoni
When designing the program and space within the new Cornerstone building that opened last fall at the intersection of South Limestone Avenue and Avenue of Champions, UK looked heavily to its student population, specifically its esports club, for guidance on subject material, building design, hardware and other aspects. One of those consulted was Thomas Bailey, who is currently president of UK’s esports club.
“We helped them to gather a laundry list of ideas of what we as a club wanted to see in the space, particularly with the esports arena,” Bailey said. “Their original plans had players on stage facing the broadcast screen seen by viewers, which is a huge strategic no-no [as players could see other players screens]. As gamers ourselves, there are certain nuances like that which we were able to point out that leadership wasn’t familiar with. I’m very appreciative of them including and listening to us throughout the planning process.”
Pete Comparoni | UKphoto
In addition to a 100-person capacity arena, UK’s high six-figure investment into esports within the $34 million Cornerstone space also includes a gaming lounge with 50 AlienWare gaming PCs and a handful of Xbox One X, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch consoles. The arena also features a backstage locker room area and media room for “casters,” the esports equivalent of in-game commentators, to broadcast events live.
“It’s been interesting to watch the rise of esports into legitimacy more than just the occasional match you’d see on ESPN,” said Bailey. “You’re seeing events pull in absurd numbers that have gotten the attention of colleges and other big players, which is only going to further balloon interest and spur more industry growth.”
For top players, earning potential in esports can be astronomical, ranging anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars annually into the millions. In 2019 Kyle Giersdorf netted $3 million from winning the solo Fortnite World Championship. The same year Dutchman Johan Sundstein earned nearly the same amount from playing Dota 2.
Even players not considered elite can realize success and notoriety. In 2018 Tyler Blevins, better known by his online alias “Ninja,” broke a viewer count record on streaming platform Twitch when he streamed Fortnite with rappers Drake and Travis Scott and Pitts- burgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The fast rise of esports encompasses far more than just gaming. With events now shown every- where from ESPN to YouTube, Twitch and other platforms, broadcast journalism has found its way into the industry as well. Other fields with career paths directly relating to esports include event planning, graphic design, lighting, audio, computer programming and law.
According to Price, UK’s aim with its esports program is to use the broad appeal of video gamesto show prospective students the wealth of career options in the industry that have nothing to do with being a top player.
"A large component of this is to use our student’s widely held passion for gaming to notice other interests that they can tap into as potential career paths within the esports industry." —Heath Price, UK’s associate chief information officer
“Rather than our program focusing on only top competitive players from League of Legends and other games, we strive to reach a broader audience,” Price said. “A large component of this is to use our student’s widely held passion for gaming to notice other interests that they can tap into as potential career paths within the esports industry as well.”
While other universities are beginning to get competitive with their esports programs, Price says he doesn’t foresee that happening with UK in the near future. However, UK’s esports partner, Gen.G, has just announced plans to relocate its Shanghai Tigers team, which competes in the NBA 2K League, to campus, making it the first professional esports franchise to call Lexington home.
UK is primarily focused on hosting its own gaming tournaments, such as the UK Esports Invitational held in March that included eight other SEC member schools, as well as discussion panels like “Cornerstone Commentary,” a virtual speaker series with CEOs, players, developers and other gaming industry figures.
Another step in introducing students to alternative career paths in the industry is UK’s newly announced study abroad program in Seoul, South Korea. A partnership between Gen.G, International Studies Abroad, Hanyang University and Korea University, the four-week experience beginning this summer will give students an up-close look at the gaming and esports industries from one of the most crazed and advanced video game markets in the world. The trailblazing program looks to further cement UK as a leader in esports within the American collegiate landscape.
“This is a great opportunity for our students to take some great academic courses in addition to getting a behind the scenes look at the esports industry in the place it all began,” said Miko McFarland, executive director of Education Abroad & Exchanges at UK’s Inter- national Center. “We’re very fortunate to have a partner like Gen.G that can provide our students with such unique opportunities to learn about the potential career paths within esports.”