Stout Esports

Join the UW-Stout Esports Competition Team

The University of Wisconsin-Stout varsity esports program offers students an opportunity to compete for Stout against other colleges universities across the country in various esports competitions. Applications for the 2022-2023 season are open for all current and prospective UW-Stout students to fill varsity and junior varsity rosters. Additional tryout dates will be added as needed.

Prospective athletes are evaluated on three core values: Skill, Attitude, and Communication. Applicants should be prepared to submit academic information and experience in the title for which they apply.

Applications are currently being accepted for competitors in: 

• League of Legends
• Overwatch
• Rocket League

Team Roster, Stats & Competition Schedule

Visit the UW-Stout Esports Team Website

Related Academic Opportunities at UW-Stout

History of Esports

In 1972, students at Stanford University got together to play in a video game competition for the 1962 video game called Spacewar. Dubbed as the Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics, 24 students competed in matches for the ultimate grand prize—a 12-month subscription to Rolling Stone Magazine. Almost five decades later, this event is recognized as the world's first esports tournament. 

Esports continued to grow through the 1980s and saw its first boom in the 1990s with the growing popularity of PC gaming. Games like Quake (1996) and Starcraft (1998) saw thousands of players competing in tournaments each year. Esports growth exploded into the 21st Century with games like League of Legends and the livestreaming service Twitch, both of which remain hugely influential to this day.

Esports Goes to College

In 2014, Robert Morris University in Chicago became the first college in the U.S. to offer esports varsity athletics. Other colleges quickly followed suit, and in 2016 the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) was established at the nation's first Collegiate Esports Summit in Kansas City, MO. What began with seven institutions now features more than 170 NACE institutions. UW-Stout was the first institution in Wisconsin to offer varsity eSports.