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Monday, April 29, 2024 987

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It’s a Wednesday night, and a group of Fort Lewis College students has gathered in a room in the Reed Library Building to participate in one of the fastest-growing sports in College: eSports.

The dark room is lit by bright LED lights and the screens of the computers as five Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III team players trade instructions and yelps as they fight for their digital lives on the high-tech gaming computers.

FLC is leveling up its game, recently inaugurating a state-of-the-art eSports Lounge that can accommodate the fast-growing sport.

The journey to this state-of-the-art facility began modestly in 2018 with the founding of the Fort Lewis Gaming Society (FLGS). The next summer, Patrick Gaughan, the manager of Campus Audiovisual Technical Services, researched how to establish an eSports program, surveying interest at FLC and visiting colleges with existing programs.

As a result, in the fall of 2020, Recreational Services, Club Sports took ownership of a room in the Education and Business Hall, where gamers started to meet, and participation was growing at a fast pace.

“We were busting at the seams from day one,” observed Brandon DenHartog. “It was about a third of the size, and the room would get so hot with all the machines. I started meeting with Patrik [Holmes] in early 2023, discussing how to move into a bigger space. We proposed to the Facilities and Planning Committee, and after a meeting with the Provost, we got it green-lit.”

The proposal process was a lesson in project management and pitching for FLC students as well.

“It was life-changing,” said Holmes, a senior studying Business Administration and the student eSports supervisor. “When working with Brandon, I learned how to manage myself and manage others.”

With the support from the Fort Lewis College administration, plans for the new eSports lounge gained momentum. A larger room in the Reed Library Building was allocated for the eSports lounge, and funding to enhance its electrical and networking systems to ensure optimal performance for gaming activities.

The eSports lounge officially opened on February 19, and there are now 55 student-athletes on the Club Sports. Using the eSports Lounge, Club members will participate in the competitions hosted by the National Association of Collegiate eSports, comprised of over 240 colleges and universities.

Students who join the eSports program can use the 20 gaming computers available to compete and participate in many competitions that FLC enters. The computers are equipped with top-of-the-line processors and graphic cards providing smooth and detailed visuals for gaming and graphics-intensive applications. The computers are also equipped with a 2TB solid-state drive (SSD), providing storage space for files and programs, and the 16GB of DDR4 memory ensures smooth multitasking and speedy performance.

Holmes and DenHartog plan to expand the eSports Lounge’s offerings with more game titles, teams, and systems in the coming years.

After defeat in the Call of Duty match, coach Lucas Lebold reassures the players and gives them hints on how to improve next season.

"We gave it our all, and at the end of the day, it's about whether we competed. We're not going to win everything."

DenHartog said the program offers students a sense of camaraderie, responsibility, and purpose, enhancing the overall college experience and promoting retention rates.

“It opens up another subset of students that Recreation Services wasn’t able to reach out to,” said DenHartog. “We’re giving students a sense of community, a team to belong to, a responsibility. With that, we will keep them here for four years by giving them something to look forward to. They can crush it in class and then come play some video games.”

Holmes agreed.

“We want it to be a truly life-changing, open, and welcoming space for all,” he said.