Gustavus Esports began in the Fall of 2021 as a student organization now known as Gustavus.gg. It was started by then-Campus Activities Advisor Garrett Meier, Competitive Co-President and now-Alumni Nick Hagen, Casual Co-President and now-Junior Jay Erickson, with help from other passionate Gustie gamers. When first getting its footing, the organization hosted an event, called “Jackbox Jumpscares”, for Halloween. Gusties gathered to casually play Jackbox Games like Murder Trivia Party and Quiplash. The most popular events run by the organization have been their annual Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers Tournaments, both of which have seen crowds of Gusties who were there simply to watch the matches.
Aside from running campus-wide events, the organization created a gaming lab in the basement of Gibbs Hall thanks to a gracious donation from an anonymous source. Last year, they held daily lab hours where Gusties could come in and play either casual or competitive games on the campus-provided gaming computers. Weekends in the lab were particularly lively as it gave students on campus a way to unwind with friends. As the organization grew, it focused more on creating competitive teams while organizing campus events such as “In Real Life Among Us” and a “Retro Relay” in order to appeal to casual players while also gaining recognition.
Last year, Co-Presidents and now Juniors Gabe Gohman and Ewan Hupka focused on forming and growing competitive teams; “This past year, we’ve continued to support our competitive teams for Valorant, League of Legends and Super Smash Brothers, while also working towards expanding to more than just a student org,” Gohman said. Over this past summer, the organization worked with Gustavus’ administration and was able to hire a full-time Esports director. Gohman hopes that with the school’s support and the new director at the head, the program can grow to “include more games, more ways to get involved, and even more passionate Gusties than before,” Gohman said.
Evan Haldeman is the newly hired Esports Director. Haldeman praises what the students have been able to achieve over the past two years: “The students have already done an amazing job getting the program to where it is, and I am here to help guide their efforts,” Haldeman said. The program is looking for a new space outside of Gibbs Hall that will provide it with room for more computers, people, and teams. Haldeman said he is “excited to expand our space and show the campus community who we are.”
Senior Ryan Wersal is an Executive Board member for Gustavus.gg. Wersal has attended meetings from very early on in the organization’s development. He has exceeded his position’s requirements and was a significant contributor to the organization’s “Among Us IRL” event last December. Wersal’s favorite part about the gaming scene at Gustavus is “the option to play games competitively, casually, or both. We have players who compete against other schools in League of Legends or Valorant, and once their intense game is finished, they hop on their favorite single-player game, like Minecraft or Genshin Impact.”.
As Esports garners more attention from high schoolers who are trying to decide which college to attend and as more colleges add Esports programs, Gustavus needs to follow suit. The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), which is also the largest Esports association, reported having “170 member schools with over 5000 student-athletes participating in varsity Esports programs across the U.S.,” said Cappex.com. Esports at Gustavus can and will continue to grow thanks to the administration’s support, hard work, and pure passion that Gusties put into it.