Esports
We are UC Irvine Esports

At UC Irvine, esports are about more than merely competing; it’s about learning, developing leaders and using games to make the world a better place. As video games play an increasingly important role in our lives, esports have a unique opportunity to be a force for good. As early adopters with nearly a decade under our belts, UC Irvine Esports is well-positioned to innovate, inspire and improve the Anteater experience in our increasingly-online world.

Our progress

Through the support of donors, sponsors and the gaming community, UC Irvine Esports has emerged as the gold standard in collegiate esports and has been featured everywhere from ESPN, to the New York Times, to NBC Nightly News. Among elite universities, our teams dominate the competition. Among the top collegiate competition, our academic pedigree rises above.

We can’t do it alone...

While we’ve made tremendous progress since launching in 2016, we’re just getting started - and we your need help as we look to push the boundaries of gaming and lead the way forward. We hope that you will help our students during this important time by making a gift on Giving Day 2025. 

Your Giving Day gift will help fund travel for our teams to compete for championships and help prepare UCI students to be the talented, compassionate and dynamic leaders our world needs. Join us in building a global hub for esports - where academia and industry collaborate to improve competition, advance research, engage communities, and launch careers.

Thank you!

You can also support us by following us on:

Twitch        Facebook        YouTube        Twitter        Instagram

See what people are sharing about UC Irvine Giving Day 2025!
Esports Donor Map
Rank State Gifts
1 NONE 0
1 AA 0
1 AE 0
GIVE EARLY
Early Bird Challenge
Event
Early Bird Challenge
Thanks to a generous gift from UC Irvine Foundation trustees Gary and Melanie Singer, donors will be chosen at random to unlock an additional $500 for the school, program or cause supported during the Giving Day Early Access Period (ends 11:59pm on April 21)!
GIVE EARLY
Social Media Challenge
Event
Social Media Challenge
Show your UC Irvine pride! Post on social media with #UCIGivingDay and let us know what you care about most at UC Irvine. We'll be selecting and featuring our favorite posts, and if we feature yours, $500 will be donated in your honor to the initiative mentioned in your post!
GIVE EARLY
1965 Challenge
$1,965
1965 Challenge
In celebration of UC Irvine's founding, the 1,965th gift will receive $1,965 in matching funds for the school, program or cause supported from UC Irvine alum and trustee, Terry Godfrey ’86 and Steve Godfrey!
73 / 1,965 Gifts
GIVE EARLY
Esports 50 Gifts for $50,000 Challenge
$25,000
Esports 50 Gifts for $50,000 Challenge
Help us reach 50 gifts for Esports! Thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous donor, the first 25 gifts made to Esports will unlock $25,000, and the next 25 gifts will unlock an additional $25,000!
0 / 25 Gifts
Don't forget to share!

Questions? See our FAQ.

Or you can contact us at james.yokelle@uci.edu.

GIVE EARLY
Help us unlock a $50,000 reward!