With the intramural spring sports seasons being cancelled, Recreational Sports and Wellness turned to a new type of competition for university students.

The REC launched its first-ever esports season in the spring semester of 2019. The idea came about due to students having no way to compete against each other without having to interact in person.

Jason Templet, assistant director of competitive sports and fitness services, shared how the esports season is run.

“The esports tournament is run by myself and a third party called Mission Control,” shared Templet.

Templet explained which video games were offered for this season.

“We offered several different video games: Madden 20, NBA 2K20, NHL 20, FIFA 20, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart and Call of Duty,” commented Templet. “This season, the most popular game was Call of Duty.”

With it being the second season for esports, Templet talked about how the numbers of Southeastern players surprised him.

“We had over 70 SLU students sign up to play in the leagues and 308 participants across 13 Louisiana colleges,” shared Templet. “That’s very good numbers considering Southeastern made up a majority of the participants.”

Templet shared the benefits of esports and how it still lets players compete against each other.

“With everyone practicing social distancing and staying safe, having these leagues is a great way to stay competitive and make new friends that share similar interests,” commented Templet.

Templet explained how in 2019, he and two other faculty members came together to try and spark the growth of esports at the university for students who take interest in video gaming.

“The REC is trying to grow in the eSports community so Seth, Jean and myself thought it would be a great idea to organize some leagues,” said Templet. “We thought it would be a great way to kick start esports at Southeastern.”