WACO, Texas (KWTX) – According to a report by the Entertainment Software Association 61 percent of the population of the United States plays some form of video game at least one hour a week. That’s over 190 million Americans. In fact, 1 in 3 people on the planet play video games. Those numbers combined with […]
WACO, Texas (KWTX) – According to a report by the Entertainment Software Association 61 percent of the population of the United States plays some form of video game at least one hour a week. That’s over 190 million Americans. In fact, 1 in 3 people on the planet play video games. Those numbers combined with the rise of competitive gaming are just too big to ignore, so Baylor decided to get in on the action.
Over the past few months Baylor has been dipping their toe into the Esports waters hosting the Texas Esports Fall Finals for Texas high schoolers in December. Now, they are jumping into the deep end launching a collegiate Epsorts program and hiring their first coach and program director, Adam Stanley.
Stanley is a Truett Seminary graduate and former Esports coach at Brewton-Parker. A private Baptist college in Georgia.
“We’re going to have practice plans every day,” said Stanley.
“We’re going to review film. We’re going to have mandatory study sessions. We’re going to lift weights and work out. We’re going to watch what we eat. We’re going to have a schedule, a routine just like the varsity athletes of other traditional sports.”
It’s safe to say Stanley is not playing around when it comes to the new program. The new coach is bringing a record of success with him from Georgia winning several championships in games like Valorant, Fornite and Rocket League. But lifting weights isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about gaming.
“We want to be holistically well developed,” said Stanley.
“We want to be people of routine and discipline and structure. Often times that can be used against us in our industry of gamming, but we want to be countercultural to that stereotype.”
Just like in traditional sports Stanley will be able to recruit student athletes and offer scholarships. Something that can be attractive for kids who have put thousands of hours into these games.
“If you’ve put in so many hours pursuing excellence and trying to be the best but have just fallen short (of going pro) you’re kind of hoping for a return on your investment on all that time,” said Stanley.
“And I think the college space in particular allows students to perfect and pursue their craft but also it gives them structure. It gives them a degree to fall back on, and that’s very important. That is the Christian mission, is developing these students holistically and transforming them. And that’s what this program will be about.”
Stanley says that the program hopes to be competing in the fall but if not, the team will look for ways to support the Baylor’s Esports club team Oso Esports as well as high school programs across the area.
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