How Esports Can Help Fill “Voids” Beyond Athletics At Colleges And Universities

BY ADAM GROSSMAN

The “Mid-American Madden Challenge” was created by Learfield IMG College and Mainline, an esports tournament operator provider, as a way to “lean into Esports to fill the sports void.” However, esports actually has the opportunity to help fill the void caused by the coronavirus across a myriad of issues for colleges and universities.

Learfield, with Mainline’s help, is “filling out its programming with esports” events given that football is really the only sport being played right now at colleges and universities. The Mid-American Madden Challenge is a tournament composed of teams from the 10-school Mid-American Conference competing in the popular football video games starting with qualifying events beginning this week.

Chief content, development and strategy officer at Learfield IMG College Rob Schneider stated that esports had been growing in importance for schools with ties to esports companies prior to the coronavirus. The current environment, however, has enabled that, “our teams and our partners have all really leaned into this opportunity because the demand is there.”

Schneider’s point makes sense given the growth of esports and gaming generally during the coronavirus. However, esports is something that can be particularly important for colleges and universities specifically.

Schools are facing significant issues with attendance and tuition as many institutions have moved fully, mostly, or partially to distance learning. As the New York Times states, “A rebellion against the high cost of a bachelor’s degree…has gathered fresh momentum as campuses have strained to operate in the pandemic…students and their parents are demanding tuition rebates, increased financial aid, reduced fees and leaves of absences to compensate for what they feel will be a diminished college experience.”

That is what made the comments by Alex Kartman, director of sports production for Ball State Sports Link and Esports, even more interesting. He said his school’s efforts “will instead involve a 500 member-plus Madden esports club on campus.” He also stated, “Student success is where we elevate and where we measure what success is to the program. Wins and losses we hope will come, but we want to create an environment where there’s inclusivity, where everyone feels valued and that they feel connected to the university.”

In other words, Kartman is focused on esports’ impact on the entire student body and not just the school’s performance in the specific tournament. Kartman’s comments build on a phenomenon we discussed in a previous post on Ashland University’s announcement that  it would be providing scholarships to Fortnite players in 2017.

Why would a university offer esports scholarships? We can use the Block Six Analytics (B6A) Corporate Asset Valuation Model to answer this question. When applying B6A’s analytics to valuing sponsorship, we define success based on two main criteria:

1. Return on investment – how does a company make money from a partnership

2. Return on objectives – how are a company’s brand and marketing goals addressed from a partnership

From a purely economic perspective, schools either want to have a higher number of students attend or charge a higher price for annual tuition. The more students that apply to the program, the more likely that the school will have both a higher number of students attend and the ability to charge higher tuition given the greater demand.

Increasing brand awareness with the target demographic is the key strategic goal of having an esports team. More specifically, students have to know that Ashland could be a compelling option for their college education.

Ashland’s Fortnite scholarship is not just increasing brand awareness in a vacuum. Ashland is specifically able to reach its target high school demographic of students that are considering applying to college. Relatively few people will actually make the school’s esports team, but as esports head coach Josh Buchanan said, “Fortnite appeals to both the core and casual gaming audience.”

The core and casual gaming audience has significant overlap with Ashland’s target demographic. The key here is Ashland using esports and gaming to show why it is different from other universities and that it will have innovative activities that specifically appeal to its target demographic. Now many students have a compelling reason to apply and choose to have a university experience.   

The thinking that Ashland continues to employ with scholarships for more games can and should be extended to other colleges and universities with this context in mind for the reasons Kartman stated. Esports events, like the “Mid-American Madden Challenge” create unique virtual opportunities only achieved by enrolling in one of the conference’s schools. It is also a direct answer to the question posed by the students and parents in the New York Times piece about why they should be paying tuition.  

 Learfield IMG College is absolutely right that esports can help athletic departments deal with financial and economic impacts from the coronavirus. However, the impact of esports should not only be seen with athletic departments. Investments in esports can also help colleges and universities address core attendance and tuition challenges caused by the coronavirus.