Due to interest from Horry County, Coastal Carolina University approved an esports minor in November 2023, according to Donald Rockey, the Recreation and Sport Management (RSM) department chair.
The world of esports is a multi-billion-dollar industry, according to Joe Winslow, instructional technology professor. He said the city of Myrtle Beach is interested in this industry because of the opportunities for additional sports tourism and potential events.
“Esports is about much more than video games,” Winslow said. “It’s about business and business skills in the marketplace.”
University consultant Nick Matawa, who assists CCU’s esports club, has similar opinions. Matawa used to compete at the Divison I level as a traditional sports athlete, and since making the move from traditional sports to esports, he has seen what the game does to the emotional state of a student.
While esports require similar amounts of labor and time as physical sports, they also provide the opportunity of community for everyone. Through his position as a consultant, Matawa has mentored team members who have physical disabilities and can find their place in esports.
“The ‘e’ in esports stands for ‘everybody,’” Matawa said. “That’s what we always say.”
Rockey and Winslow described the process for designing the minor as an interdisciplinary pursuit. Many different departments at Coastal, such as the communication, media, and culture department, helped to construct this minor. However, RSM claims it.
The University worked with existing classes at Coastal to design the minor. Rockey said one of the required courses, field experience class, or RSM 392, is now available to students.
“A bunch of us put our heads together,” Rockey said. “How can we create this interdisciplinary minor that will serve the students that are interested in esports?”
In addition to receiving help from various CCU departments, they reached out to other universities with esports programs. According to Matawa, universities such as University of North Carolina (UNC) at Charlotte and Greensboro, as well as North Carolina State University, have received endowments from North Carolina to develop esports programs.
This decision was made with hopes of boosting STEM education.
Winslow said because of UNC Wilmington’s involvement and interest in esports, CCU has benefitted from their guidance and was put in contact with different experts in the field.
