A look ahead to DEI in Collegiate Esports for the 2023-24 school year
Introduction
A little over a year ago I put out an article titled “A Path Forward for DEI Practices in Collegiate Esports” (linked here) to discuss my frustration with how marginalized groups were being treated in collegiate esports. In it, I talked about some data-driven perspectives on where the industry currently stood, shortcomings that I had noticed, and potential resolutions from a variety of perspectives. While my initial impetus to write the piece was born out of frustration, the project turned into a multi-week dive into DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in higher education in general, getting more connected in the space, and becoming an outspoken advocate in collegiate esports for DEI ideals.
Unlike my previous publication on this topic, this piece will be different. This is not the result of pent-up frustrations but rather a hopeful look at the current status and solutions moving forward. I want to celebrate progress and show how strides have been made while still being realistic about the roads yet traveled. However, I want to echo what I said in the introduction of my last piece too: This is not a call-out post. I am not going to name and shame people and programs who are not properly enacting DEI practices. I want to highlight those who are living the mission to “do better” and encourage others to do the same. I want this piece to encourage conversation, spark new thoughts, and motivate the people in positions of power in collegiate esports to actualize necessary change.
Things have become markedly better in the industry since I last wrote about them in many ways, but some challenges still remain, so let’s work on them together. I want this document to serve as a toolkit for program staff to solve issues they have regarding DEI and potentially inspire new ideas and new approaches, but in the end, it is also a reflection of myself and my own experiences as well.
(tl;dr at the end)
Author’s Note
I wanted to write this piece because I think it is important to come to a collective understanding as an industry about where we stand as we enter the new school year. The start of a school year is a time when programs can refresh their practices, re-establish norms, and continue to mold themselves into their ideal form. It is also the ideal time to re-evaluate practices to ensure that they are inclusive and encouraging diversity as you are set to welcome new students to the program, either from a pool of recruits or walk-ons from the campus community.
I am writing this piece to, in part, hold myself accountable. I am coming into the school year with several ideas and new practices I want to implement and only time will tell how well I do. But I want this piece to serve as me drawing the line in the sand, saying I am committing to them, and my hope is that this can also inspire others to do the same. While I am an outspoken advocate, there is always still work to do and it has been on the forefront of my mind as I look ahead towards the return of my students to campus. I am always happy to have conversations if you have questions or thoughts that you would like another perspective on. I am by no means an expert and my views on DEI come from my experiences in the industry and are shaded by the implicit bias that I carry. However, I will do my best to help, and I will, at minimum, direct people to others in the space who may have better answers, many of whom I consider close friends and colleagues in this effort. Some of the best people to talk with about DEI in esports are (in no particular order) below. Also, if I missed someone, I’m sorry! There are so many people I see as direct mentors and colleagues in the DEI space that it can be hard to keep track sometimes:
Stephanie “Keilet” Takemoto (she/her) - Experienced higher-ed professional working on a PhD in DEI in esports who I have bounced ideas off of more times than I can count. An amazing and wise resource that I am lucky to have as a friend and trusted partner as I pursue DEI work more seriously.
Harley “HarleyLAdler” Adler (they/them) (Discord handle) - Director at Marywood University and one of my closest friends in the space. They continue to bring a well-thought-out and compassionate perspective to all of our discussions and I lean on them frequently for problem-solving and a fresh set of eyes and they consistently go above and beyond to help.
Kaitlin “Kaitlineh” Teniente - Director at St. Mary’s University and an amazingly outspoken voice and strong ally in esports. She and I have vented to each other frequently and shared our experiences and ideas with the goal of bettering our programs. She was someone who inspired me to first start talking about DEI so I am eternally grateful.
Anykey and the amazing Hillary “Hillabeans” Phan (she/chị/em) have been wonderful partners in exploring DEI from an esports industry perspective and I can always count on them to be a font of knowledge.
Russ Hamer (he/him), Jesse “JesseBodony1” Bodony (he/him), and Sergio “ImPhysix” Brack (he/him) are people I met through my work with VOICE who have consistent and strong voices for DEI ideals in esports. They are great to talk with for a variety of perspectives and I have leaned on them in the past for help in vetting my writing too.
I would also be remiss if I didn't cite the major resource I will be leaning on for the majority of data and numerical statistics in this piece, the 2022 Trends In Collegiate Esports Report (hereby referred to as the TR). The last time I wrote about DEI, the Trends Report was a major source of data and insight for me and I have continued to use it in several places in my work beyond DEI, but the DEI section is the most important to me as I was the author who wrote it. I am thankful I could contribute as a co-author for the report and it has been an endlessly useful tool.
A Primer on Terms
Thank you to the College of the Environment at the University of Washington for having a wonderful page with all of these terms so thoroughly defined!
DEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Diversity: Socially, it refers to the wide range of identities. It broadly includes race, ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, veteran status, physical appearance, etc. It also involves different ideas, perspectives, and values.
Equity: The fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that prevent the full participation of some groups. The principle of equity acknowledges that there are historically underserved and underrepresented populations and that fairness regarding these unbalanced conditions is necessary to provide equal opportunities to all groups.
Inclusion: The act of creating an environment in which any individual or group will be welcomed, respected, supported, and valued as a fully participating member. An inclusive and welcoming climate embraces and respects differences.
LGBTQIA: An inclusive term for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual.
Context on the Previous Year
This industry operates at a breakneck pace and reshapes itself quickly too. With venture capital and cryptocurrency money imploding, the professional scene is seeing major upheaval but, in spite of the chaos at the top, collegiate esports has remained a bastion for players to pursue their future in multiple ways. The collegiate esports industry has seen marked change in the past school year though, and notable standouts include an ever-growing number of competitors, high-level leagues defining themselves as figures in the community, and programs springing out of nowhere as experienced program directors shifting out of their long-held roles.
Some Statistics
More schools have been investing in esports as a tool not only for recruitment but for retention of students as administrators begin to understand how important it is for students to find “their people” on campus. With increased investment in esports, more schools are finding their programs overseeing an increasingly diverse population of students, and Figure 1.15B on page 51 of the TR quantifies that.
Figure 1.15b
The dark blue bars represent the 2021 data and the 2022 data can be found in a lighter blue color. This chart indicates that we have seen a massive jump in several categories for how many programs report having at least one student from these DEI groups. A natural next question is to ask “how many students are actually from a DEI category given this data” and that can be seen in the TR on the following page, page 52, in Figure 1.16.
While there is no 2021 data to directly compare this to, given the growth seen in the first figure and growth in all other areas as noted in the TR, it can also be reasonably assumed that there was also growth in the percentage of students from a DEI category across programs. Esports programs are starting to become outliers from their parent institution in terms of DEI and becoming safe havens for students who may be marginalized on their campus. Anecdotally, this is especially apparent at Primarily White Institutions (PWI’s) where esports, already an outlier population at many institutions, becomes a safe haven for students who are marginalized in several ways on their campus.
Purposeful and Open Inclusivity
Something I have been very pleased to see is the increasing number of students, and staff, in collegiate esports who have been able to openly express that they are LGBTQIA and feel safe in their program while doing so. I see coming-out posts all the time now and I have been contacted by a few directors as well for advice on how to be the best ally they can be. Overall, despite the continued legislative attacks on LGBTQIA rights throughout the country, higher education and collegiate esports in particular have become an increasingly safe space.
I have witnessed several purposeful inclusivity efforts that have gone above and beyond simply offering space and instead have made inclusivity a core goal of their program through event planning, cultural efforts, and modeling behavior from staff. One of the best examples of this comes from Grand Canyon University which ran a speaker series throughout the year bringing in women in esports to talk about their experiences and offer advice where they can. I am very fortunate to have been a part of this speaker series myself and I am looking to do something similar in the coming year.
In general, the statistics look bright for DEI in collegiate esports and I am happy to see change being made, both overtly and subtly, to push the industry further. However, there are still several challenges that remain that cannot be purely quantified and they primarily stem from program culture.
Changing a Program’s Culture
A program’s culture is impossible to quantify but imperative to understand, something that eludes statistical analysis yet needs to be understood. For new directors or staff walking into a new program, understanding where the program, overarching department, and university culture stand first is imperative before making any changes, and, speaking truthfully, it is something I fell short in during my first year at IWU. I assumed that I knew the program culture because I had an understanding of high school esports and my time since then has been spent focusing heavily on culture building to atone for the missteps I made.
When I first came to IWU, I met with all of my direct report chain including my boss, the Associate Dean, and his boss, the Dean of Students and VP of Student Affairs. In my time here, they both have been amazing to learn from as I develop as a higher education professional and grow beyond the limited scope of esports, but something the Dean said from day one has always stuck with me. She immediately started by telling me that I need to “Learn the culture and build relationships” before I do anything else, and it honestly has stuck with me throughout my time here. Culture is the baseline from which everything else can happen and right now esports needs to change its culture.
“Bro Culture”
The best way I can broadly describe esports culture, and by extension collegiate esports, as it currently stands is as a “Bro Culture” categorized by big egos, overconfident attitudes, and obnoxious and dismissive conduct towards anyone who does not fit the traditional norm. We have seen this manifest itself in how and where events are held such as holding a mixer at a restaurant staffed solely by scantily clad women or in how struggles tend to be treated with people expected to “man up” and deal with something. Marginalizing and “othering” those who do not fit a culture instead of listening to them and understanding them further only serves to reinforce “Bro Culture” instead of fixing it.
While yes, it is good to have everyone bought in on the same culture, that culture being toxic, potentially misogynistic, and brimming with elements you’d be embarrassed to tell your administrators about is not the way to do it. Fixing a culture issue starts with fixing the pervasiveness of “Bro Culture” in a program and preventing it in any way possible. That is not to say that programs should entirely consist of people who are non-male identifying, but it’s saying that programs need to create the right culture for them and enforce it. A director saying they don't tolerate “Bro Culture” and then just letting it happen, watching as non-male identifying students leave the program in droves, and not looking at what needs to change, is the same as doing nothing. As I will discuss later in this piece, fixing cultural issues can be as simple as leading by example in language and conduct, but it also requires program management to have a zero-tolerance policy towards intolerance and hateful conduct.
I would hate for any program to EVER have incidents like what was happening with the Northwestern University Football program. If you don’t know about that recent scandal that was exposed by the excellent journalists at the student newspaper, please take the time to read it. I can’t even begin to describe it. I do not think any program in esports is even close to this sort of treatment, but the trends in program culture can start small.
Not Caring About “Pronouns”
I have heard from several LGBTQIA students, grad students, and even full-time staff from various esports programs say that staff and others in their program are very dismissive of their identity if it differs from what they were given at birth. Some have seen their school publicly tout the success of their teams or in some cases an individual and use the wrong pronouns for them in the same instance, and not by accident either. Invaliding someone's identity, be it via pronouns, name, or how you talk about them to others, is another surefire way that a program’s culture can be corrupted and begin to push marginalized individuals to the periphery. Esports is one of the easiest spaces to be inclusive given that it is less physically demanding and can be done regardless of season and yet people still find a way to hate someone based on being different.
One of the greatest examples of the “war on pronouns” as it seems to be manifesting is mass hate towards tournament organizers for simply putting pronouns next to someone’s name on the broadcast. A notable example comes from the Teamfight Tactics Set 8 Mid-Set NA Finale where they started adding pronouns next to names on the broadcast and some people took offense to that apparently. A few content creators (who I will not name) went so far as to make extremely upset videos, Twitter threads, and direct insults against organizers and talent alike because they had their pronouns listed. This sort of attack for simply identifying yourself and what you are referred to as is an example of a cultural issue in the esports community as a whole and one that is undoubtedly part of collegiate esports as well. While the overwhelming sentiment eventually leaned towards including pronouns, the overwhelming and initial backlash, as well as the continued legislative pushes in the government against pronouns, do speak to this being endemic in overall culture currently.
Politicizing identity to create a culture war on people who are just looking for acceptance and support only serves to further marginalize a group already desperately searching for a home. Gaming has become that home for many of these people and collegiate esports especially so. Creating or allowing a culture where the hate from the outside world can seep in is ultimately damaging to the program.
Intimidating to Outsiders and Preventing Walk-ons
The esports programs at most universities were initially created when a group of friends wanted to play games together in a more structured way and all banded together to do so. No scholarships, no structure, just a love of the game and a drive to compete. A worrying trend, however, can be seen with some programs wherein they discourage students from doing this now. There is a developing culture across collegiate esports of “insiders vs outsiders” to prevent non-scholarshipped or less competitive students from being a part of a program, something that ultimately discourages buy-in from the greater campus community as esports starts to become a clique more than a community.
While not every program has the resources to sustain several teams across each game they offer, the programs that are fortunate enough to have the ability should be welcoming to non-recruited players with open arms! These players, anecdotally, have been some of the most upbeat and enthusiastic players I have ever worked with. This is in part because they are actively choosing to be there, even when the going gets tough they still want to be a part of the program. Walk-ons are an amazing asset that more programs need to utilize because they genuinely do care. I have had professors and staff from departments I very seldom talk to message me saying that they have students so-and-so in class and they’ve been talking nonstop about esports and bam, a new partnership on campus is formed. Elitism and being a gated community can only get you so far on campus and will eventually alienate the rest of the student body towards a program, something that can lead to the administration viewing it unfavorably too.
Fixing this can be as simple as just being visible on campus more often! Going to campus sports games as a team, wearing jerseys around campus, showing up at the RSO fairs, and being welcoming are all great ways to include new people in your space. A thriving campus community is the greatest asset an esports program can have because it means that there are more members on campus who potentially want to be involved in esports too!
Solutions and Leading by Example.
There is no “one size fits all” solution to creating a more welcoming and inclusive culture in an esports program and that is what makes it such a hard challenge to tackle. Every campus, every program, and every group of students is different and considerations need to be made, but I would caution against leaning on this too much. Saying “but my situation is different” can only get you so far before it morphs from an explanation of challenges to an excuse for a lack of effort. So when thinking about changes that could be made to promote and effectively include DEI ideals and practices in a program, please think carefully about the situation you are in.
First and foremost, DEI isn’t a simple checklist of foolproof steps that you walk through and reach a predetermined endpoint. It is an ongoing cultural movement in a program or group that seeks to promote and safeguard diversity, equity, and inclusion in all facets of the program. One of the easiest ways, however, for a director or program staff to encourage and promote DEI in their program is by leading by example. One of the easiest steps I would recommend is putting your pronouns in your Discord/Twitter bio and your email signature. While simple, it goes a long way toward normalizing the use of pronouns in communication and makes those who mention their pronouns more frequently stand out less. The classic queer-phobic online insult of “pronouns in bio” has a lot less meaning when it is less about identifying one singular person because they stand out and become normalized in culture. While higher education is getting really good about this, esports still has a ways to go.
Another thing that a program can do to lead by example in this regard is the language used by staff and student leaders. It is pretty well proven in education pedagogy that modeling behaviors go a long way toward normalizing them to the point of being automatic. Something I worked on when I came to higher education was going from talking like a teacher and calling the players “my kids” to calling them “my students”. Similar to this, language can be changed to alter how we view someone's pronouns and potentially new names. Instead of calling it “preferred pronouns” or “preferred name” just say “their pronouns are…” or “their name is…” as saying preferred or chosen can make it sound out of the ordinary and something that makes them different. These little normalizations of language details, while small, can make a large impact on acceptance and inclusivity within a community.
At the end of the day, however, it really comes down to leading by example in that the staff or leaders of a program need to have a zero-tolerance policy towards intolerance. Philosopher Karl Popper put it best when he said “in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance.” A program cannot exist when there are students fundamentally opposed to the mere existence of certain other students in the program. Staff need to remove students who do not show tolerance, model tolerance for those who remain, and make it clear that it is not acceptable to be hateful and remain a part of the program. It is absurd to me that there are programs in collegiate esports that not only allow intolerance but are practically founded upon it.
The short of it is that if a program wants to change its culture to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive, it has to come from the top. The staff has to lead the charge because if students see the change only happening among other students, it is very unlikely that they will have faith in the program to continue to be welcoming to them in the long run. The ultimate test is that a program culture that promotes diverse and equitable practices should be able to withstand a change of leadership for a program. It should be so ingrained in the program that it feels unnatural not to be inclusive. And for the leadership, it should feel the same way too.
Hopes for the Future
Like I said earlier, a lot has improved and changed in the industry in just the last year since I first started talking about this. With all the positive signs and changes that programs have been making, I am hopeful that this time next year when I write my 2024-25 school year article, I will have much less to talk about! Along with this hope comes things I want to see new or improved in the coming school year throughout collegiate esports.
This past year we saw several new marginalized-gender tournaments appear in esports, both from a professional and collegiate level, and I couldn’t be happier to see collegiate getting ahead of the curve! Some notable examples for me come from the GCU Purple Rain Valorant season, the NECC x CVH Cherry Cup (a project I personally worked on), and the Paidia Cup, which played their grand finals on stage at CECC May Madness in Arlington, TX, back in May. Increased efforts around diverse and equitable tournament offerings, which can create a more inclusive space for those who are traditionally marginalized in esports, is a promising sign that collegiate esports has begun to see marginalized-gender players less as outliers and more as part of their core audience. My hope is for further seasons and tournaments to be offered for the marginalized-gender community and that we will eventually see major collegiate organizers like NECC, NACE, ECAC, and others start to offer seasons.
I have seen some pushback against Marginalized Gender tournaments recently with concerns that it is excluding players more than it is including them and I would fight that notion. Purposefully making space for those who do not feel welcome elsewhere is how you can welcome them to the community without putting them on the spot. In co-ed events, non-male players tend to have higher performance expectations thrust upon them because they are treated as a monolithic representation of their identifiable group so they have this need to prove themselves. By offering a homogenous space for marginalized players to compete, it becomes less about having to prove you belong there and more about just competing!
Another hope for the coming school year is that more programs publicly support their marginalized student population. St. Mary’s University is a fantastic example of this in how they celebrate the fem-identifying people in their program for Women’s History Month each March with tons of posts and celebrations around them. There are also a growing number of programs celebrating Pride Month in more than a performative manner and as a whole, programs are becoming more culturally responsive in recognizing and celebrating their students. I hope to see this continue and for programs to genuinely dedicate time and effort towards celebrating all of their students as everyone deserves to be recognized.
I also hope in the coming year that programs continue to collaborate with departments on campus for programming that serves to benefit multiple student populations. We have seen several programs do marginalized gender gaming nights, cultural integrations with world languages departments, and just offering up their space as a place where groups who wouldn’t typically be present can relax and game in a space meant for it. While this can serve as a recruiting tool for walk-ons (as previously discussed), it also serves to show that the program and whatever spaces they might have are not closed to outsiders. Creating inclusivity with an esports program doesn’t just have to be searching for competitive players and can look like being generally welcoming where applicable.
These are just a few of my hopes on the topic of DEI in the coming school year and it is my firm belief that they are achievable and reasonable for almost any program to do. I am personally looking to celebrate my students more with various posts and recognitions throughout the school year when the time is right as well as collaborate with cultural RSOs to use esports as a meeting space. I am also looking to reignite a project with Greek Life on campus to do a charity tournament involving several sororities and fraternities on campus once students return to campus. Lastly, I will continue to push and lead efforts regarding marginalized-gender tournaments in collegiate esports, and those who know me, know that it has been a core focus of mine for quite some time now.
TL;DR
Esports as a whole has a culture issue that collegiate esports has unfortunately inherited. A “Bro Culture” mentality has become a consistent theme throughout the industry and has pushed marginalized folks further away via discrimination, both overt and subtle, being found in many facets of a program. Creating an unwelcome space for outsiders only serves to further harm any sort of DEI practices being done and, while the overall DEI data points in the right direction, cultural issues evade statistical classification. Programs can work to fix their own cultural issues by starting from the top. Leaders of a program need to lead by example with their words and deeds and ensure that all others in the program do the same. Making esports a more equitable space won’t happen overnight, but it is already in progress and we can do more to help it.
Key Improvements
Increased quantity of students from diverse backgrounds in every category.
Increased number of students who are from a DEI category in the overall makeup of a program.
More purposeful inclusivity efforts in the previous year.
More competitive and casual offerings for a diverse population throughout the industry.
Looming Challenges
Cultural issues such as a pervasive “Bro Culture”.
Accessibility is blocked off by elitist beliefs.
Wider cultural issues seeping into esports such as the “war on pronouns”.
The belief is that being inclusive is simply a checklist.
