UCI Giving Day 2019

At UCI Esports, we elevate competitive play to harness human potential. For us, esports is about more than competing at the highest level; it’s about learning, developing people, and making the world a better place. Our vision is to be the global hub for esports where academia and industry collaborate to improve competition, advance research, engage communities, create entertainment, and launch careers.

Because of our broad focus and competitive success, UCI is widely regarded as the gold standard in college esports. Hundreds of schools and universities around the world look to emulate what we have created here. And while our program has made significant strides in its first few years, we still have room to grow and improve.

As UCI Esports is self-supporting, your contribution will be greatly appreciated and critical to pursuing our goals and remaining the best college esports program in the world.

Competition: We have scholarship teams for both League of Legends and Overwatch, two of the most popular esports today. We provide the coaching and support staff necessary for our players to regularly compete for championships and maintain a healthy life balance. We were the 2018 League of Legends champions and recently competed in the Fiesta Bowl Overwatch National Championships, UCI’s first-ever bowl game. We also support our successful club teams and celebrate their success.

Academics & Research: Our program actively supports our world-class games scholars, connecting them to a large population of both elite and recreational gamers. We fund undergraduate research through UROP. Along with the Informatics department, we co-host an annual conference (UCI Esports Conference) to bring top academics together with industry representatives to talk about the latest research in esports.

Community: UCI has a massive community of games fans and our gaming clubs are among the largest student organizations on campus. We provide space, resources, and mentorship for the clubs to flourish. We also partner with NASEF, our high school esports partner, to provide a competitive league experience, club support, and curriculum for our youth. Additionally, UCI Esports is leading the conversations around inclusive excellence: we became the first esports organization to create an Inclusivity Plan to support the involvement of underrepresented communities in esports and will be hosting our third Girls in Gaming summer camp this year.

Entertainment: We hire and train UCI students to broadcast our matches live on our Twitch channel. Our on-air talent -- shoutcasters -- provide live play-by-play and color commentary while other students run the production behind the camera. We also host live events and tournaments in our arena. Located in the heart of the Student Center, our world class arena is a model facility that supports all five pillars of our program. Check out the video above with a tour of our space!

Careers: As leaders in college esports, we are uniquely suited for connecting our students to internships and careers in the video game and esports industries. We host events, panel discussions, and offer networking opportunities for our students and local gamers. Every year, we hire over 70 students in paid positions within our program to help our staff develop industry skills and acquire great work experience before graduation. Many of our program alumni have found jobs in or adjacent to the esports industry, from esports teams to sales and marketing to content creation.