Esports (Academic Minor)
The business behind competitive gaming — events, promotions, marketing and management — whatever your major.
The Esports minor gives you the opportunity to develop fundamental and in-depth knowledge of the exciting and expanding esports industry. Across 18 credit hours you work through the industry itself and the business disciplines that run it: event management, promotions, marketing, contemporary industry issues, and esports strategy and management.
18
Total credit hours
6
Required courses
3
Courses devoted specifically to esports
All
Majors welcome
Why This Minor
Esports has grown from campus clubs and streaming channels into a global industry with teams, leagues, arenas, sponsors, broadcast partners, agencies and collegiate programs. The work behind the competition looks a great deal like the work behind traditional sport: events to run, audiences to grow, sponsors to serve, content to produce and organizations to manage.
This minor is built for that work. You start with the structure and history of the industry, then move through the operational and commercial skills — running events, building promotional campaigns, marketing to sport and leisure audiences — before closing with upper-level courses dedicated to esports strategy, management and the issues shaping the industry right now.
It pairs well with majors across the University, including sport and leisure management, hospitality and resort management, marketing, business, communications, journalism, computer science and graphic design. Whatever your major, you graduate with industry-specific credentials and vocabulary that set you apart in a field hiring quickly and still defining itself.
Courses you're already taking may count. SLS 3600 Event Management, SLS 3650 Promotions in Sport and Leisure, and SLS 4500 Sport and Leisure Marketing also appear in sport and leisure management and related plans of study. Check with your academic advisor — overlapping coursework can reduce the number of additional hours you need to complete the minor.
Coursework
The minor is 18 semester hours. All six courses are required; there are no elective choices to make.
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| SLS 2205 | Introduction to Esports | 3 |
| SLS 3600 | Event Management | 3 |
| SLS 3650 | Promotions in Sport and Leisure | 3 |
| SLS 4106 | Contemporary Topics in Esports | 3 |
| SLS 4107 | Strategy and Management in Esports | 3 |
| SLS 4500 | Sport and Leisure Marketing | 3 |
SLS 2205 is the entry point to the minor and is best taken first. Prerequisites, course restrictions and current offerings are listed in the University Catalog.
Careers
The minor prepares you for the business and operations side of competitive gaming and for roles that reach well beyond it:
Esports event and tournament operationsTeam and league managementCollegiate esports administrationSponsorship and partnershipsMarketing and brand strategySocial media and content productionBroadcast and streaming productionTalent and player managementVenue and arena operationsGame publisher community and marketingSport and entertainment marketing agenciesGraduate study in sport management
View this minor in the University Catalog
Ready to declare? Talk with your academic advisor about adding the Esports minor to your plan of study, and review current course offerings and prerequisites in the University Catalog.