MU Esports Team Finishes Top Ten In National Championships 

Marshall’s fledgling Esports team answered the call of duty at this weekend’s Collegiate National Championships.  

The school’s Esports broadcast team covered the Thundering Herd foursome in action, competing virtually in the international Collegiate Call of Duty league. That league is a part of the NECC, which is the National Esports collegiate Conference. They house NCAA schools, NAIA schools, international schools and junior colleges.

Esports are simply competitive video games, used directly with a PlayStation, Xbox, computer, or other controlling device. Marshall Esports Director and Club Director Kyle Trapp said in its first year as a varsity program, the Marshall Esports team finished eighth in the nation out of 326 college challengers.  The team includes Captain Niko Thibeault, Alex Carr, Nathan Crouch, and Jackson Short.

“We were in the southeast Appalachian district,” Trapp said. “Then you just play 15 matches. And whoever places the highest there, you get to go on to regionals, and then you have to win your regionals out. And then you go into nationals. It was a long journey to get here.”

MU’s team beat long running Esports competitors like Cincinnati, Wichita State and Cal State Fullerton before losing to Ohio State.

Trapp said his team,advancing so high in playing Call of Duty Black Ops Six, took great pride in all being from the Mountain State. 

“All four of them are West Virginia boys,” Trapp said. “They were very excited that they were able to represent, not just themselves, but also West Virginia as a whole and Marshall.”

Trapp said Esports learning skills go far beyond being able to work a fast controller. 

“It’s a lot of communication skills and critical thinking on the spot,” Trapp said. “The other thing, there are a lot of reactive abilities in mind. These guys were going to the gym twice, three times a week, making sure they were ready to go. There is a statistical study that if you go to the gym, your accuracy in first person shooters does improve by 60 percent. And they’re eating healthy. They weren’t just over there chugging Red Bulls and eating Doritos and all that stuff. They were actually drinking water, staying hydrated, making sure they were on top of stuff.”

Trapp is working with the school’s Broadcast Journalism department to create an academic major in Esports and Esports Broadcasting.

It’s a varsity sport officially recognized by the university right at this moment,” Trapp said. “The next level for me is adding five to six teams this fall.”

Christopher Swindell, MU professor of Journalism, teaches Esports Broadcasting. Matches are live streamed on platforms such as Twitch. Swindell said that journalism saw the explosive growth of Esports years ago and decided since players were already using the studio to livestream, the school should make it a class.

“In the last two months, the school finalized two courses officially in the curriculum, Esports Broadcasting and Esports Shoutcasting (not quite ready to roll out but on the books),” Swindell said. “In this move, the J-school is catching hold of that rising star – a billion dollar industry already with tournament action in Vegas that rivals any prize fight – all while sharing and collaborating with others involved, the College of Business, Computer Science, and Academic Affairs. The short term goal is a major,wherein a student can earn a gaming degree in conjunction with the specializations we are all offering.”