By Stephany Suarez
Roughly 60 students turned out to game and promote STU eSports for National Video Game Day on September 12 at the esports gaming lab on the second floor of the Fernandez Family Center for Leadership and Worship.
The event spread awareness about STU’s burgeoning eSports Club. Students said Professor Craig Skilling is paving the way for student-athletes who sometimes feel unseen and developing an encouraging atmosphere for esports student-athletes to find their place at St. Thomas University.
Professor Skilling teaches the Introduction to eSports class, serves as head coach for the eSports Athletic Department, and is the Program Director for the undergraduate Sports Administration program.
Skilling’s passion for gaming and education is fueling the expansion of the fairly new program. He is currently coaching a recruiting class of more than 10 new Bobcats attending STU on esports scholarships.
The event also helped Professor Skilling identify new talent to compete on the various teams in the spring. Some student participants said they were able to build a community with fellow gamers. Others were excited to try a new sport for the first time.
Anyone can join the esports club for recreation or as an experience, but students must try out for the varsity team that competes in the NAIA’s Sun Conference. These athletes must maintain their grades and GPA just like any other student-athletes.
Esports players must have the determination and drive to practice and raise their rankings. Professor Skilling, or “Pro Skills” as his students call him, is present to help them with everything they need to succeed.
“It wasn’t until I got into higher education and saw esports from an academic perspective that I realized it could be a possible career for some,” said Professor Skilling, who previously served as Florida Memorial University’s Director of eSports and lead faculty in sports and entertainment. He also taught event management at Johnson & Wales University’s North Miami campus.
“We’re helping people connect the dots about a promising, growing and fulfilling career,” Skilling added. “I also realized we weren’t teaching and training the future esports tournament organizers who are getting into this multi-billion-dollar gaming industry.”
Professor Skilling is the father of two young boys who started playing indoors during the pandemic. He noticed parents often told their kids they could not game for a career when their children became passionate about gaming. So, he wants to give young people hope and encouragement to pursue this interest as a real career. Esports, meanwhile, continue to grow exponentially.
The intersection of gaming and sports offers a place for students to find their careers, branding opportunities, and create engaging artistic content. The research firm Statistica forecasts the global esports market will “increase more than fivefold between 2023 and 2032, reaching a value of over $10 billion within the next 10 years.”
