While many organizations and student groups struggled to maintain a presence throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the esports club at Slippery Rock University defied that trend and actually saw growth.

Likewise, the industry around esports has been growing for years, as more and more people find interest and entertainment in competitive video gaming.

“We've had a lot of ways to continue the growth of our club,” said Caleb Grabowski, a sophomore at SRU who is president of its esports club. “We set up a lot of different things: scrimmages with other schools, thanks to our online aspect.”

In addition to his work with the esports club, Grabowski also helped Department of Exercise & Rehabilitative Sciences Assistant Professor Seth Jenny research lessons for an esports minor program, which SRU will offer this fall.

SRU already offers an introduction to esports class, and the minor will offer classes that build off its foundation. Jenny said the minor is intended to be interdisciplinary, and will focus on the business, communication and health and performance aspects of esports.“It has really laid the foundation for having students really understand what a massive industry it is,” Jenny said of the esports class. “I really think a minor is most appropriate for the undergraduate level because if someone, say, wanted to be an esports lawyer, they need the other side of it.”The minor will be housed in SRU's Hospitality and Tourism Management Department in the School of Business because of the program's focus on event planning and business lessons, according to a university news release. The three core classes in the minor are introduction to meetings and event management, introduction to esports and current issues in esports health and society.The other requirements include electives such as video production, public relations and promotion for events and the fan experience and sports marketing, according to the news release.Jenny said more colleges are creating esports programs, aimed at giving students entry into different aspects of the industry from communication to coaching.Jenny also said the classes could attract students from any of the university's majors.“I think a majority of college students play video games,” Jenny said. “Certainly, the people who are more interested in competitive video gaming could take the classes, but anyone who is interested in video games might enjoy it.”

Brandon Pierce is a member of the university's esports club, and is also enrolled in the introduction to esports class. He said because of his existing interest in video gaming, he wants to enroll in the esports minor to learn more about the video gaming industry.“I really hope from this class I can more so see things from a different point of view,” Pierce said. “I have only been on it from one side. I would like to see how to plan esports events.”Paul Schlabach, a junior majoring in cybersecurity at SRU, said he plans to enroll in the esports minor, and hopes the program will help make more people aware of the opportunities in video gaming and esports.“I think there's still a pretty strong stigma that if you play video games, you're lazy,” he said. “I don't think people realize it's a big deal with events that need planning and the business side.”Jenny said members of the university may develop more classes for the esports minor that tackle more aspects of the industry in the coming years.More than 40 students enrolled in introduction to esports class for the fall 2021 semester as an elective, and there is now a waiting list for the class. A second section could be added if enough students are added to the waitlist, according to the news release.Grabowski is debating on enrolling in the minor, but said he is pleased it is being implemented since many people are still unaware of the magnitude of the industry of esports.“Every single month, there is a multimillion -dollar tournament,” Grabowski said. “I do hope this minor will show a serious thing to a lot of people, and it's not just video games.”