Graduating in gaming: the first 10 students to major in e-sports at the University of New Haven are just a few months from getting their degrees. The university’s academic e-sports program aims to prepare students for gaming in the real world and jobs in an emerging market.
“When I was a kid, I wasn't really a sports person. So I was always playing games,” Connor Lincavicks, E-sports Management Major and Halo team captain, said.
“My parents always said to me, they're like, you know, 'do this for fun. But once it comes time for college, like, let's look to other things,'” Lincavicks said.
Then the University of New Haven reached out to Lincavicks, recruiting him for their e-sports varsity Halo team and the academic E-sports Management program. He joined in 2020.
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“It's crazy because I always thought like gaming was a hobby, but now I'm doing it in college competing, but also for my major as well,” Lincavicks said.
His arena: The Stable.
“We are the Charger Horses. So this is our home the Stable, where we compete,” Rob Holub, UNH Director of E-sports, said.
The e-sports gaming and tournament venue is equipped with 26 PCs, along with console areas, where the 75 members of the e-sports program practice and compete.
Holub said the program is a spinoff of UNH’s long-standing sports management program.
“When the industry started to change, we pivoted over to adding an e-sports bachelors degree and a masters degree,” he said.
Holub said all instruction is industry-based, preparing students for the array of jobs they might find in their futures: from content creation, to competition and commentary, to event and talent management.
“If you look at the NFL, you might say, 'well, the only job that's available is the head coach or the general manager,'” Holub said. “Then we realize that there are thousands and thousands of people who deal with everything that the Super Bowl went through.”
A new E-sports Global Market Report from The Business Research Company predicts the industry will grow from $1.6 billion in 2023 to $2.8 billion by 2027, more than 16%. The report said that’s thanks to rising demand for video games, and increased awareness about e-sports and livestreaming.
“It is a truly large reaching industry,” Holub said. “It is essentially entertainment that we're looking at, and then all of the pieces that go into that.”
As for the first cohort to graduate in gaming this spring, including Lincavicks, the idea of a career in e-sports is quickly going from virtual to reality.
“I'm kind of seeing that there are more careers in e-sports,” Lomcevaks said. “If that's running a program, if that's being on partnerships for an organization, I just want to talk to people. I want to be in front of people promoting products, whatever is needed.”
