Eastern Michigan Hopes to Boost Enrollment with New Esports Agreement

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 05/29/20

Eastern Michigan University has signed a multi-year contract with Gen.G to run competitions for both college and high school students and organize K-12 camps. The deal is intended to help the institution accelerate its esports activities, helping to drive fall 2020 enrollment and differentiate the school from others in the region. Gen.G, which owns professional esports teams and runs academic esports programs, has similar programs with the Universities of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Esports plans for Eastern Michigan include running an invitational where high school players pit their skills against college players, as well as hosting several online K-12 esports summer camps, including one specifically for female students.

In June and July, the university will host Super Smash Bros. tournaments every two weeks. High school teams in the region will be able to challenge the EMU Super Smash Club in friendly competitions to be streamed live on Twitch. Players will interact via Discord.

On the camp roster is "Gamer Girls Getting It Done," a three-day online camp that will run three times during the summer. Topics for the $99 camp will include lessons from top women in the industry, tips from streamers and pros and insights on producing esports events.

Other camps will be dedicated to Overwatch, Fortnite, League of Legends and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. And a five-day camp will provide an introduction to the gaming industry, where participants will get experience in game design and learn about tools used to create video games.

"We're proud to be the first in Michigan to truly integrate esports and gaming into our campus life and offer our students a platform to find a community here," said Calvin Phillips, associate vice president for Student Affairs, in a statement. "We know how important selecting a college or university is for a student, and we want to differentiate ourselves with a meaningful opportunity and educational platform at EMU."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • geometric pattern features abstract icons of a dollar sign, graduation cap, and document

    Maricopa Community Colleges Adopts Platform to Combat Student Application Fraud

    In an effort to secure its admissions and financial processes, Maricopa Community Colleges has partnered with A.M. Simpkins and Associates (AMSA) to implement the company's S.A.F.E (Student Application Fraudulent Examination) across the district's 10 institutions.

  • stylized figures, resumes, a graduation cap, and a laptop interconnected with geometric shapes

    OpenAI to Launch AI-Powered Jobs Platform

    OpenAI announced it will launch an AI-powered hiring platform by mid-2026, directly competing with LinkedIn and Indeed in the professional networking and recruitment space. The company announced the initiative alongside an expanded certification program designed to verify AI skills for job seekers.

  • Abstract AI circuit board pattern

    New Nonprofit to Work Toward Safer, Truthful AI

    Turing Award-winning AI researcher Yoshua Bengio has launched LawZero, a new nonprofit aimed at developing AI systems that prioritize safety and truthfulness over autonomy.

  • hooded figure types on a laptop, with abstract manifesto-like posters taped to the wall behind them

    Hacktivism Is a Growing Threat to Higher Education

    In recent years, colleges and universities have faced an evolving array of cybersecurity challenges. But one threat is showing signs of becoming both more frequent and more politically charged: hacktivism.