Southwestern Michigan College is hoping to grow its Esports program in the coming year. SMC Director of Campus Life Jeff Hooks tells us as Esports have been growing in popularity, the college created an Esports arena just before COVID hit.
“In our IT building, we had a lounge that didn’t get a lot of use,” Hooks said. “We actually converted that into an arena. One wall is completely all glass that leads out into the lobby, so it’s easy for people to sit and watch people play.”
It’s fitted with 12 state of the art PCs for the athlete gamers to compete. Hooks says the program has always been-student led, and the team now competes mostly online. A recent $25,000 donation from Midwest Energy and Communications will enable it to do even more.
“Updating the equipment because that’s one of the things about PC gaming. The stations have to get updated on a pretty regular basis to stay competitive. So, keeping the equipment up to date and potentially paying for new jerseys, things like that.”
The arena has now been named the Midwest Energy and Communications Esports Arena. The Esports team currently has six members, but Hooks expects it will grow when the new academic year begins. The Roadrunners compete in Rocket League and Valorant.
