The first official esports team in Wyoming to be recognized by the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) is at Central Wyoming College. In the last two years the team has placed high in national competitions.
Esports are competitive video games. College teams have been springing up everywhere in the Mountain West. Even the University of North Dakota has a bachelor's degree in esports as of this Fall.
Central Wyoming College’s esports coach Adam Simon said the college will be offering scholarships next semester. He said having an esports team opens up opportunities for those not interested in traditional sports.
“We get a wider range of diversity from different personality types, different types of people that can kind of communicate with each other and play with each other,” he said.
Simon said their team competes with teams in larger cities. The college now has a dedicated esports lounge with 10 high quality gaming computers and massage chairs.
“They compete with colleges across the country, because they can do it from here, which is really cool. So they can play a lot of teams on the East Coast every single week during our season and on the West Coast as well,” he said.
Simon said there are around 11 players on the esports team and they are currently at the end of their third season.
Central Wyoming College will host a tournament to support scholarships for the esports team for next fall. The tournament will feature Call of Duty and Rocket League and is scheduled for May 7th.