Ryan Ray
Ole Miss Esports is experiencing early success after recently moving into a renovated location in the E.F. Yerby Center. The new location allows Esports to have numerous PC gaming setups and compete at the highest level.
The program has three gaming teams that compete competitively in tournaments: “League of Legends” (a multiplayer online battle arena game, MOBA for short), “Call of Duty” (a first-person shooter game) and “Rocket League” (a vehicular soccer game).
The program also has teams that play “Madden,” “Valorant,” “Rainbow Six Siege” and “Overwatch.”
The League of Legends squad is ranked 11th nationally. The Call of Duty team recently qualified for the College Call of Duty League, where they placed second in 2019. The Rocket League team is ranked 33rd of 1,200 NCAA teams.
Ole Miss Esports will host a Campus Series event that will be open to the public. The event, March 15-16, will feature “Valorant,” “Rocket League” and “Super Smash Bros.”
John McDermott, director of the esports program, joined the staff in 2019 not only to help students develop their gaming skills, but also to also help them succeed in the classroom.
“It is my duty to help students develop,” said McDermott. “Help students get their education and give them the opportunity to go professional.”
During his time at Long Island University, McDermott helped grow the esports program from six students to 300. McDermott has brought that same mentality to Ole Miss.
McDermott recruits players in multiple levels, like regional, national and international. The process is much different than the traditional recruiting process that football, basketball and baseball players go through.
“The national players are your ‘high level’ players,” McDermott said. “If a normal player wanted to join the team then I can help put them in the best position possible to succeed.”
Esports allows players from across the world to play the games they love, while also being able to pursue their academic goals.
In esports, there is no limit when it comes to size, strength and gender. There isn’t a grass field or court to play on. Just, in simple terms, sit and compete. Participating in esports allows students to critically think of the situation within a matter of milliseconds, but to also bond with their teammates.
Garrett Bradham, a freshman computer science major, is a player on the “Valorant” team who is a member of ECAC and plays competitively against other teams across the country.
“It’s been fun to grow relationships with new people and host events,” Bradham said. “The experience has been positive overall.”
Esports gives a student the opportunity to “try again” when it does not go as planned the first time.
Lee Holt, a senior English major and a member of the “Smite” team (also a MOBA game), joined the program in 2022 due in part to her love for video games.
“I’ve always loved video games,” Holt said. “I joined the club in 2019 and tried out for the ‘Overwatch’ team, and when that didn’t really work out I waited until they made a ‘Smite’ team.
“My favorite memory was when we were in the ABL tournament (Albion Giants League) and we finished fourth place overall,” Holt said. “The competitive nature of things is fun also.”
In 2017, the program started as an FPS (first-person shooter) student club, then became a university program in January 2019 after beating rival Mississippi State in the esports Egg Bowl.
In August 2021, alumnus Abb Payne and his wife, Jennifer, made a generous donation to the esports program for renovations for a dedicated location for students to be able to play.
“It’s nice to be able to have a place to chill and play,” Holt said.
The program looks to continue to grow and build on their recent success to eventually one day be called champions.
