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An opportunity for cowgod in Birmingham
| cannon | 05/06/25 |
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Date: May 6th, 2025 8:41 AM Author: cannon Alabama college one of first in US to offer degree for emerging esports field By Williesha Morris | wmorris@al.com Updated: May. 06, 2025, 7:10 a.m. Published: May. 06, 2025, 7:10 a.m. The University of Alabama at Birmingham will soon give students the opportunity to get a chunk out of a billion-dollar industry: Coaching competitive video games.
Starting in the fall, students can earn a bachelor’s degree in Esports Performance Management and Coaching, making UAB the first school in the state to offer such an academic curriculum and the ninth school in the country.
The field is “quickly evolving,” according to Teresa Taber Doughty, dean of the School of Education and Human Sciences. The closest school for interested Alabama students is Shenandoah University in Virginia, “one of the pioneers in this space.”
“Our focus was about how can we take an academic approach so that we are preparing people for this field and for engaging in research,” Doughty said. “At the same time, we could then start building a team and that infrastructure on campus so that students are actually engaged in this more formally. So we’re really taking a different approach.”
“We wanted to make sure that we had all the right data and that we could roll out this program in a manner that would lead students to a successful career, whether they chose to go into an Esports area or a related field,” Doughty said.
Before making the announcement official, administrators generated buzz by creating an introduction to digital gaming class. Course spots filled up immediately, Doughty said, and the class will be one of the core courses for the new program. A new Esports graduate certificate is available now and an undergraduate certificate is on the way.
Much of the curriculum will focus on the health and wellness of an Esports athlete, Doughty said. Playing video games for extended periods means students must increase stamina and eat a balanced diet.
Doughty said coursework will involve training students on “nutrition, in terms of their ability to engage in long-term sitting and movement while also being able to stay alert and have hand-eye coordination at top level.”
UAB already offers programming for kinesiology, the study of human movement, so Doughty said there’s expert faculty in place for supporting courses, including professors who understand the gaming landscape.
She said there are opportunities for coaches in Esports, “because this field is exploding.” Along with classes on physical education, mass media management and motor development, students will work with faculty to learn how to coach athletes. Electives include sports economics and marketing classes.
Students interested in being an Esports commentator or “shoutcaster” can learn about mass media communication in sports.
“I think what’s nice is that our graduates, if they don’t go into the Esports arena, they can still go into multiple areas related to coaching and performance management or they can go into graduate school and work in physical therapy,” Doughty said.
Students can use what they’ve learned to move into neuroscience or artificial intelligence-related research.
“I don’t think we’re going to have to do much convincing of the parents that, yes, this is a legitimate career pathway,” Doughty said. “I think right now it’s just a matter of making sure that school counselors know that this is another option now available.”
UAB currently has an Esports team and Good Games UAB, an Esports and tabletop gaming student organization.
Interested undergraduate students and their families can contact recruitment director Caran Kennedy for more information. Interested graduate students can reach out to Mary Frances Lembke. |