New game in town: Upper Iowa, Hawkeye plugged in to esports
By Doug Newhoff, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
FAYETTE—Rick Hartzell grew up in the days of wooden baseball bats, rotary dial phones and full-service gas stations.
Stepping into the world of eSports, the new Upper Iowa University director of athletics admits, has been a bit like an old television episode of “The Twilight Zone” aired in an unfamiliar language.
If Hartzell felt an initial bit of disconnect with the concept of competitive video gaming at the collegiate level, he’s not alone. On the other hand, what’s good for the Peacock athletics program and the university is good for Hartzell, and like a growing number of athletics administrators across the country, he believes the time has come for eSports.
Upper Iowa’s new video gaming team begins competition this fall. The Peacocks will have as many as 10 scholarship players who will compete as a team against similar squads from all levels of NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA.
Hawkeye Community College also is embarking on its inaugural season of eSports this fall with a roster of more than 20 players. Clarke University in Dubuque and Grandview University in Des Moines are establishing programs, as well.
Nationally, there are now more than 100 collegiate teams and some level of eSports program at an estimated 300 institutions, many of them offering scholarships.
It’s an area of growth at a time when national surveys indicate declining numbers in traditional sports participation. The National Sporting Goods Association reports participation among children between the ages of 7 and 17 declined 6 percent in 2017. Surveys also estimate participation in youth football is down as much as 20 percent since 2009.
“When we started athletics here four years ago, we began with the traditional sports like soccer and cross country and track and field and golf,” noted David Ball, director of athletics at HCC.
“Then we started to look at — and Steph (Stephanie Cherry, associate director of student life) started investigating — what we were leaving out of the equation. This is one of the fastest-emerging sports in collegiate athletics. It’s a way to attract new students to campus with unique skills.”
When Hartzell was hired as Upper Iowa’s AD in January, he was challenged by university president William R. Duffy II to grow the athletics program and, in turn, the student body.
“He said any creative ways you can come up with to get that done, let’s talk about,” recalled Hartzell, who was previously the architect of highly successful athletic programs at Bucknell and the University of Northern Iowa.
“We started women’s lacrosse. We decided to start men’s and women’s bowling. The esports thing kind of popped up because a lot of colleges are doing it.”
For Hartzell, it’s a way to enhance and diversify Upper Iowa’s athletic program in a way that is academically beneficial, as well.
“It yields good students and some really good kids, and the kind of students it yields are for the most part really good in math and science,” he noted.
“There are some things associated with this that are outside my ability to figure out yet. Jim Lowery on campus here (Lowery is now the team’s coach) had some knowledge about it and helped us with the video and TV production and volunteered to take on the effort to recruit kids and get the program started.
“And here we are.”
Esports isn’t a certified NCAA sport yet, partly because there are opportunities for competitive gamers to win cash prizes at tournaments, which muddies the eligibility line between amateur and pro. The National Association of Collegiate esports currently serves as the governing body.
There is a financial investment for the universities, although it pales in comparison to the cost of operating a Division II football or basketball program.
“We’ve got a special area set aside for the equipment and wi-fi we need to make this work,” Hartzell explained. “We’re getting special computers that we need to compete at the highest level.”
On the other hand, the operating budget is minimal. Esports teams largely compete from campus with only an occasional tournament requiring travel and expenses.
“It’s a pretty good upfront investment on our part with equipment, scholarships, competition space and a coach, but we think over time, particularly if we get off to a good start, we’ll be able to recruit eight or 10 kids every year and eventually have a squad of 25 or 35,” said Hartzell.
Esports can also enhance overall student life on campus. A large percentage of the student body has video gaming experience. Fans pack competition venues to watch the action and millions are following esports through live streaming and a growing number of television broadcasts. Surveys indicate as many as 300 million unique viewers watched esports around the world last year. Just last week, ESPN televised the Overwatch League Grand Finals live in prime time.
“We’ve talked about a way to put our competitions in a big lecture hall and then televise them so students can come in and watch or watch from their computer,” said Hartzell.
“There are some aspects to it that I’m not real sure about yet, but it’s been fun and it’s been interesting trying to help make this come together.”