eSports is competitive gaming using video games on various platforms, most often in the form of organized, multiplayer competitions. An esports program consists of several teams participating in specific game titles. Players usually focus on only one game but can play additional titles depending on skill and schedule.

The global eSports market generated 696 million dollars in revenue in the last year with a global fan base of 385 million people.

eSports provides an extracurricular activity where students can be involved and find a larger community of like-minded peers. Students learn valuable skills playing eSports such as how to participate in a team sport, strategic thinking, time management, and managing success and failure.

OTC’s esports arena is on the Springfield campus, Information Commons West room 117

• Nintendo Switches with a variety of games.
• 12 high-end gaming PCs from MSI with the following specifications:
  • Intel Core i9 3.5 GHz, 16 GB of RAM, NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080 10G GDDR6X
• We also have a table for tabletop games or cards

OTC’s coed esports program is open to full-time students who are in good standing with the College and have at least a 2.5 grade-point average (GPA). If the student is not 18 years of age or older, a parent or guardian’s permission will be required

Additionally, players will be responsible for a set number of hours for practice and esports-related responsibilities.

At this time, OTC is not offering scholarships for eSports players

OTC will focus on games that are team-based and can easily support school-against-school competition. Games for the competition will be selected based on popularity, the ability to participate in league/tournament play and suitable content. The final selection criteria will be determined in conjunction with other universities and/or leagues.

If you would like to suggest a game, complete the Interest Form.

Tryouts will be scheduled if necessary, based on the number of students who sign up to compete and which games are chosen for our competition season. Information about tryouts will be sent to students who completed the Interest Form and posted in the Team Discord.

Most competitions will occur online and require no travel. As the program develops, we plan to travel occasionally for tournaments. In those cases, the team would travel as a group and student-athletes would incur little or no expense.

At this time, there is no costs for students who are participating on an eSports team.

We want every enrolled OTC student to have access to the eSports facility. We especially encourage those who may have had little to no exposure to some of the gaming systems we will have. This is a chance for us to offer exploration and opportunities to as many students as possible.

Hours of availability for the eSports facility will be posted once construction is complete.

You may bring and use personal games or equipment of limited size that does not display profane visuals or words if approved by the staff. OTC and the esports Arena staff are not responsible for loss, theft, or damage of personal equipment brought to the Arena.

All games played in the Gaming Center must be rated T for Teen or below by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. You may not play or install any games in the arena that fall outside of our content guidelines.