About UC Irvine Esports

OUR HISTORY

On September 23, 2016, UC Irvine Esports opened its doors, becoming the first program of its kind at a public university. Our broad program, built around our pillars of Competition, Research, Community, and Careers, is the result of bold thinking and strong collaboration among students, staff, faculty, and external partners. UCI is a natural place for esports to emerge given our successful Game Design major, a thriving gaming community, and a history of elite competition. Today, UCI Esports continues to lead the way, setting an example for educators everywhere who understand the power of connecting learning to passion.

OUR PILLARS

Competition

Our varsity teams in League of Legends and VALORANT strive to be the best collegiate teams in the world. We provide the coaching and support staff necessary for our athletes to compete at the highest levels while also enjoying the college lifestyle. Our athletes receive fitness plans, meet with our team psychologist, and learn about topics vital to their health. We have won national championships and major tournaments while maintaining a graduation rate of 94%—a number unmatched in college esports.

Research

When our esports program was initially approved by campus leaders, we were given a mandate to support the university’s research mission. As such, collaborating with faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers has always been part of our DNA. We proudly display some of the research posters in the arena. In addition to supporting researchers, we built and led the UC Irvine Esports Conference from 2018 to 2021 and have hosted several academic symposia over the years. We have a faculty advisory board comprised of a diverse group of faculty from across campus.

Community

We believe that the gaming community is the beating heart of esports. At UC Irvine, we are lucky to have thousands of students, staff, and faculty among our family of gamers. The UC Irvine gaming clubs are some of the largest and most active groups on campus. To support future Anteaters and those in the broader community, we produce great streams and contribute to the scholastic esports world via social channels, Discord, a newsletter, and our Twitch stream. Our physical home, the UC Irvine Esports Arena, is the first public esports facility on a college campus. We host camps, conversations, bystander trainings, and many other programs to make all gamers feel welcome.

Careers

All UC Irvine students aspire to use their experience in Irvine to prepare for life after college, and we help them get ready for life beyond gaming. Every year, over 50 students earn positions within our program—from athlete to arena staff, to shoutcaster, to intern. We have job and internship boards in our Discord. We work with all of our students to ensure they have polished resumes and can articulate how their skills and experiences translate into their future goals. Many of our program alumni have found jobs in or adjacent to the gaming industry, from esports teams to sales and marketing to content creation.

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