OMEN and College Esports Descend Upon Des Moines
Across the globe, esports is exploding in popularity like never before. Whereas competitive gaming used to be primarily online play, today live tournaments played in arenas capable of seating thousands are being streamed by millions. With this unprecedented growth comes not only excitement and a variety of challenges, but also emulation and adaptation. A wide variety of college sports - from basketball to golf - provide their athletes with the facilities and training to take their game to the professional level. With this in mind, colleges are now beginning to see the value in creating similar programs for their electronic athletes and forming organizations such as the NACE (National Association of Collegiate Esports).
One school that has taken the initiative with college esports is Grand View University (GVU) of Des Moines, Iowa. This past weekend OMEN by HP was proud to sponsor and provide registration gift giveaways and tournament door prizes for the Global Esports Classic and Clinic - which was played entirely at GVU campus on our cutting edge desktops and displays. This twelve-team League of Legends tournament featured three pools for seeding and featured a variety of school such as CU Boulder, Indiana Tech and of course Grand View University. It was an extremely hard fought and exciting contest that culminated with AZIO Esports defeating Columbia College to take home the championship.
While this intense competition was a driving force behind attracting teams, athletic directors and representatives from around North America, it was not the only reason they were there. The Clinic part of the weekend focused entirely educating attendees, which also included a representative of the NCAA. The Clinic's opening topic was a study on the evolution of competitive esports by Kurt Melcher, the Executive Director of Esports for Intersport. During his talk, he broke down game publishers, specific games, leagues that are forming, and the companies and organizations that are sponsoring these different leagues and games.
Dedicated session topics also included:
How to start a university (high school) esports program
The benefits of joining an association
The esports athlete - stages of development
Principles of play in competitive esports
Developing a productive practice
Recruiting the esports athlete
For many in attendance, the Clinic served as a learning experience. Keeping an open mind, they considered whether or not esports should have a future at their schools and, if so, how to make it happen. Currently, about 35 of the represented universities are in the decision making process or have already committed to starting a program in the fall of 2018.
As it was put by one attendee, esports doesn't really have a Mike Krzyzewski or any long established names in the college scene. For a lot of people here, this is like learning about a sport you've never played in your life. Imagine trying to learn football for the first time!
This prevailing spirit of anticipation for the undertaking ahead was captured well by Joshua Pann, HP's Product Manager for Education, who said, seeing so many people committed to building a quality program makes me excited for the future of esports. Were going to see an explosion of opportunities for students to pursue their passions in a structured environment while receiving an education. The OMEN brand is proud to empower these students to compete at the highest level with quality dependable gear. That schools like Grand View continue to raise awareness for collegiate esports is incredibly exciting.
Jay Prescott, Vice President of Student Affairs as well as the Esports Director at Grand View University, spoke to this further when stating, HP has been a great sponsor right out of the gate. Their OMEN gaming stations are excellent equipment and priced in a way that is affordable for a beginning varsity program that is shooting to compete at a top-tier level. They also understand how vital education is to this entire process. Without teaching and learning taking place amongst all roles within esports, the quality of the programs will not keep up with the pace of growth. Their willingness to collaborate with Grand View on the first Global Esports Classic and Clinic allowed us to invite university and high school athletic directors from across the country to come to our campus and learn from the pioneers and leaders in the collegiate esports world. We look forward to a long and rewarding collaboration that extends the learning and growth of all those involved in the exploding university competitive esports culture.
What about the students though? Without players, esports doesn't happen, so we sat down with a few of Grand View's top players - Jon Fuki Quach and Jun Jun Chang - to get their feedback on some questions.
HP: How has your experience been with Grand View University on the esports side of things and did you go here specifically because of their growing esports program?
Jon: For the most part my experience with Grand View University has been good on the esports side. Even though we are lacking in some areas, the staff has made a good effort to try and help fix whatever problems we have in whatever way they can. I did come specifically for the esports program and was specifically chosen to lead it, help it expand, and be successful.
Jun: I specifically went to Grand View University because of the upcoming esports program that they wanted to do. However, I also wanted to finish my degree and graduate. The experience of being able to play on the esports team and get an education has been a life changer.
HP: Assuming universities and colleges across the nation now had esports programs covering a variety of games, what would be the most important factors toward choosing where yo
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...
01/07/2026
Chyron Launches the All-New Chyron Academy: A Reimagined, Hands-On Learning Expe...
01/07/2026
Amplium Captures Kawasaki Brave Thunders Game with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersiv...
01/07/2026
Boris FX Optics Expands Plugin Support to Apple Photos, Capture One, and Affinit...
01/07/2026
UKTV has today announced the appointment of Matt Berry to the newly created role of General Manager - Marketing, effective 1 July.
Matt will take on this senio...
01/07/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign featuring Deborah Meaden challenges consumers to rethink everyday bathroom wasteWednesday 1 July 2026
Fussy asks Bri...
01/07/2026
Constituency-level analysis reveals where girls miss out most on sport - and where targeted action could unlock more than £640 million in economic and health be...
01/07/2026
Wuppertal July 1, 2026
Riedel and SKAARHOJ Expand Collaboration With SimplyLive IntegrationRiedel Communications today announced an expanded collaboration wit...
01/07/2026
Apple today introduced power-packed updates to Apple Creator Studio, a groundbre...
OMEN and College Esports Descend Upon Des Moines
