The competitive video gaming scene, or Esports, has exploded in popularity over the past decade.
And the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus is embracing young people’s love of gaming with its new Esports Living Lab, which just opened this fall semester.
Walk into USF Tampa’s student recreation center and you’ll see a pretty nice gym with all the equipment you need to get in a good pump.
But go down a level and you’ll find students working in a different way – with a controller or a mouse and keyboard.
Rows of gaming computers fill the lab. Puffy couches line the corners alongside large flat screens with every video game console a gamer could want. And in the center of the ceiling – a huge neon USF Bulls logo.
After years of playing in makeshift areas, USF opened the Esports Lab. So far, it’s been going well.
“With 40 computers in this lab, we’re already reaching capacity, almost nightly,” said USF Esports Coordinator Andrew Ross.
No more cramped spaces
Ross has seen the Esports program since its inception, when students crowded into non-gaming halls to organize competitions and play together.
He knows the importance of this space.
“Before I got this job, I was a very nervous and, I would say, socially awkward person. But now I feel very comfortable talking, being outgoing and being more myself.”
Michael Lucido, a student supervisor for the lab
“Many of those involved in our clubs, it’s the first time they’ve participated in an extracurricular activity on campus,” Ross said. “This is the first time I’ve ever held a leadership position in a club because Esports and the program was able to give them an outlet, give them responsibility and something they’re passionate about, and this is the only place on campus where you can this.”
The space is free and open to USF students. In fact, some students are hired to work for the lab. As is David Cooley, a Davenport graduate student.
A “safe haven” for students
“I mean, it’s a safe haven for the players, honestly,” Cooley said. “There’s really no other way to say it. We saw so many different identities, so many backgrounds, brought together in this space already at the beginning.”
Michael Lucido, a student lab supervisor, says the job has helped him do more than just scratch his gaming itch.
“Before I got this job, I was a very nervous and socially, I would say, awkward person,” Lucido said. “But now I’m very comfortable talking and being outgoing and being more myself.”
Sofia Martinez-Sierra is another supervisor for the lab and a USF junior. She says the space is great for being inclusive of anyone who wants to game and gives them more space than trying to set up a console or PC in a cramped dorm.
“Plus, you had to connect it to the Wi-Fi here, and that’s a thing. For example, if you’re a USF student, you know how annoying it is to connect to Wi-Fi,” Martinez-Sierra said.
The lab creates competitive pride
Apart from casual games, the lab also hosts 12 Esports teams. They specialize in one game per team, competing in state and national tournaments while representing USF.
Lucy Phillips and Joshua Proctor are USF students and fighting game majors. They say they like the way USF is growing its Esports landscape and it makes them want to represent the university well.
“It’s been really amazing to see the scene grow like this and embrace Esports and to be able to honestly compete for my university, for USF, in games is crazy to me,” Phillips said.
“I’m proud of where I go and where I come from and I always want to represent the best of them,” Proctor said. “So whenever I go to big tournaments, I always wear my jersey because I’m like, ‘Okay, I want to represent USF, I want to make sure we do our best.’ “
USF is also getting in touch with the academic side of Esports. The university now teaches two Esports courses, one on the business side of the industry and one on digital content for Esports, which Andrew Ross teaches.
For Ross, however, one of the most beautiful things he sees in the new space is the relationships created.
“People won’t know each other, and I’ll put them together on an intramural team because they both signed up as free agents, and then they’re sitting next to each other at graduation,” Ross said. “And so those origin stories and seeing those stories from the very beginning is really special and that’s what makes the job special.”
And for some, the wins and losses matter less than the friends you make along the way.
Living Lab hosts Battle For Florida in October, an Esports tournament run by USF. And thanks to the new space, they can now host more teams for the tournament finals.
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