While Michigan State University’s basketball and hockey programs compete under the bright lights this winter, another Spartan varsity team is stacking up its own wins.

But competitive success is only part of the story for MSU’s esports program in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. In less than a decade, it has evolved from a small, student-led gaming community into a campuswide ecosystem involving more than 2,000 Spartans each year.

Much like its well-known game design program, MSU is embracing new disciplines and fields like esports — short for electronic sports — that extend opportunities to students that span academics, nationally recognized facilities, competition and career preparation.

“I think there’s multiple ways in which esports and gaming provide value to MSU,” says Chris Bilski, director of esports at MSU. “And to me, the sense of belonging we’re creating is a vital part of our community’s campus experience. We recognize the power of esports to help students not only connect with Michigan State, but to connect with each other.”

From club to campus movement

For those unfamiliar, esports consists of organized, competitive video gaming where individual players and teams compete in popular games, often in front of a live audience — whether that audience is in person or watching online.

MSU is a serious player in the video game industry when it comes to design, offering a degree in arts in games and interactive media and courses in game design and development — where students discover a depth of knowledge in several areas related to games and interactivity. At ComArtSci, students are serious players of the games, too.

What began in 2016 as a group of MSU students looking to connect over video games has turned into a university-supported program. By 2022, that student-led community had become MSU’s Esports Club Association and, today, more than 2,000 Spartans are involved in the esports program overall.

The program’s growth is visible across campus too. The Alienware MSU Esports Lounge in the ComArtSci and the Hubbard Esports Gaming Hub provide dedicated spaces where students gather for open play, tournaments and weekly club meetings.

Getting involved comes with a low barrier to entry, according to Bilski. If a student is interested in playing some video games and hanging out with friends, they can go to open play. If they are more serious, there are more than 15 registered student organizations for lovers of esports and video games. And gamers have been showing up.

Keng Wee, a senior studying kinesiology, was one of those students who showed up in his first semester at MSU. Wee’s love of video games began with watching YouTube clips of Super Smash Bros. 4, a game for the Wii U. Growing up in Kalamazoo, he discovered a gaming community and started playing against others. At MSU he found his place in the esports program. He ran to become a board member of the Esports Club Association and now serves as president of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Club that meets Friday nights in the ComArtSci Building, where he’s joined by 40 to 50 other gamers who play tournaments or just hang out.

“Most of my friend group already plays this game,” Wee says, “so this is just a great way to go out, have fun and be more social.”

The clubs, Wee says, are very open, and players often make friends through different groups. “There are an infinite number of things to talk about with games,” Wee says. “There’s a big intersectionality of the Smash Bros. players and the other communities because with liking gaming, we have a lot in common.”

Another thing many Spartan gamers have in common? They’re really good. “If you go to a Smash Bros. event on Friday night,” Bilski says, “you might have 10 of the top 15 players in the state of Michigan there.”

Competing at the highest level

It’s not only Michigan where Spartan esports players are dominating; Dyson Mingo is a top-ranked player in North America, playing the character Falco in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

In February, Mingo, along with Adam Ismaili-Alaoui, Ryan Marcus and Andrew Farrell, traveled to Hawaii to compete in the Hawaii Esports Invitational Smash Crews championship, the same title MSU won last year. Mingo, a senior studying environmental science, is a captain on the varsity esports team. He started on a club team before the varsity team was formed in 2023. He’s known for his calm demeanor when playing, especially when he’s Falco, one of the 89 characters players choose from in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He played sports in high school and has been playing Super Smash Bros. since he was a kid. Playing esports now, he says, is a great way to test himself and unleash his competitiveness after putting in hours of practice.

Entering the final Super Smash Bros. match at the Hawaii competition, Mingo was nervous. MSU was facing a top 10 ranked player in the world. In crew competitions, each team has four players who each have three lives at stake. Like a track relay race, they play out their three lives, then the next player replaces them once they’re out.

Dyson says, “Not to toot my own horn, but I had a special day.” He took out three opposing players (nine lives) before he passed on to Ismaili-Alaoui and Marcus, who finished the match for the championship.

MSU’s esports team is one of the best in the state and the Big Esports Conference, which includes the 18 members of the Big Ten conference (though not directly affiliated with the Big Ten). Esports is a growing program, and MSU fields teams in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Rocket League and Valorant. Some varsity players even receive scholarships.

There are about six to 10 players for each game, and each sport has a coach. Next up is the Big Esports Conference championships taking place in Chicago March 6 to 8, where MSU expects to be in contention for wins across the three games.

Should MSU pull off a victory or two, it will be more than the players and coaches who are celebrating. Beyond the competitors, MSU’s esports teams have supporters working behind the scenes. From setting up the computers and gaming consoles to setting up Twitch streams with broadcasters, MSU’s esports program has about 30 additional students who help the varsity teams succeed.

Making a career of it

For Mingo, esports is about more than winning, even if he does enjoy that. He wants to continue his education after he graduates this spring, potentially pursuing an MBA so he can continue to work in the esports industry.

“People think of a gamer, and they might think of someone who doesn’t go out much,” Mingo says, “but when you look at the Smash Bros. scene, it’s such a social group of people getting together to play games and have fun. The more we push esports, the more great connections people can make with one another.”

Mingo is not the only Spartan who is hoping to continue with esports after they graduate. There are four pillars in the esports program at MSU: campus, community, competition and, last but not least, career.

Christy Hacker is another elite Spartan gamer who is well on her way to success while still a student. She was a founding member of her high school’s esports team and became one of the first women in Michigan to play varsity esports collegiately. She has coached Rockford High School in west Michigan to multiple state championships over the past few years and now, as a fourth-year student studying advertising, Hacker works as a student employee in the MSU esports program hoping to make a career in the budding industry.

She’s also a trailblazer hoping that more women follow in her footsteps in what is currently a majority-male field. In addition to coaching other women, she hopes that more and more make an impact in esports. “A lot of women play games just as much as men,” Hacker says, “sometimes even more. And we do belong in esports.”

When she graduates this spring, Hacker hopes to find a position either at a college program or in advertising in the industry. She also likes the idea of coaching, whether at the high school level or collegiately.

In a growing industry, Hacker also thinks her idea of a career in esports could change over the next few years — the job she wants might not even exist yet.

She does know, however, that she wants to watch the sport continue to grow so that others can find the joy she has in gaming.

More than a game

During the Michigan High School Esports League state championships in December, Bilski witnessed a moment that underscored how far the program has come. He watched as some of the MSU esports varsity team walked in to watch some of the high school players compete. He was surprised by what he saw next: Some of the high school students and other fans came up to the MSU team and asked, “Can we have your autograph?” The MSU teammates signed mousepads and pieces of paper for their younger fans.

Bilski loved it and realized he shouldn’t have been surprised. “My players are their quarterbacks, right? If you like Rocket League, of course Michigan State Rocket League players are going to be really cool, and you’re going to look up to them.”

As esports continues to grow at MSU and beyond, Bilski won’t be surprised by much. He’s excited to see how much of an impact gaming can have as the program helps students find a community on campus, a place to compete and, for some, a path to a career.

Follow MSU esports on Instagram and Twitch. Follow the Big Esports Conference.