TAMPA, Fla. — USF is taking the controls literally when it comes to the future of Esports, investing $1.1 million into their brand new Esports Living Lab that opened this semester.
When USF started their Esport Program back in 2020 it was an immediate success, quickly growing to 3,500 members online.
“Thousands of students and community members who were like, ‘Hey, we would love to have in person. We want to have that social aspect, we want to get together.' So there was a high demand,” said Andrew Ross, Esports Coordinator.
This semester,, USF turned an old dance studio into a brand new, state-of-the-art Esports Living Lab, which includes 48 gaming machines.
“I would say excitement is like an understatement. It’s probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said student Zachary Huamani.
“So this lab essentially acts as a safe haven for anyone who has some sort of interest in gaming, an interest in community building,” said student David Cooley.
“I’ve had video games as part of my life growing up and being able to do that in a collegiate space was very meaningful,” said student Mei Twit.
The lab offers an extensive library of games. All students have to do is search, download and play.
“If you are passionate about playing a certain game, we can make it happen,” said Ross. “I think our full library is like 4,300 games or something.”
However, it’s more than just a hobby. The lab is also home to 12 Esports Clubs that compete against other schools across the country.
“I decided to come to USF from Texas because of the Esports Program here,” said student Trystan Cavitt.
Many of these students have plans to pursue a career in video games, whether it’s playing, managing, designing, marketing or even broadcasting.
“So right now, the minor in Esport is being created and approved; it’s in the official university process, so we do have classes,” said Ross. “It will be one of the first Esport minors offered at an AAU institution in the country, which we are really excited about.”
You could say these students have the future of gaming in the palm of their hand.
“So I definitely think if I got into that type of field, I would love it. I definitely love Esports, I love playing games, I’ve always had games in my life,” said student Sofia Martinez-Sierra.
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