A new study commissioned by Voice of Intercollegiate Esports (VOICE) reveals some interesting data on collegiate esports in the United States including its gender and racial make up, what motivates students to join a collegiate esports program, and other data points.
Research for the study, “The Benefits of Collegiate Esports,” was led by Seth E. Jenny, Ph.D., Department of Exercise Science at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania; statistician David P. Schary, Ph.D., Department of Physical Education, Sport, Human Performance at Winthrop University; and supported by collaboration from Jesse Bodony, M.A., VOICE & Pace University; and Russell Hamer, Ph.D., VOICE & Miami University.
The study is the result of mixed-method analysis of 12 university esports programs, collecting data through open and closed surveys of 12 collegiate esports program directors, 14 collegiate esports staff members, and 252 collegiate esports players. In addition to surveys, the study relies on “institutional records and rosters totaling 598 collegiate esports players.” More details on the methodology for this study can be found below—including participation numbers per each school, response rates, and other determining factors.
While the results are being called an “exploratory study,” the report is described by researchers as the “largest collegiate esports study to date.”
Race, Gender, and Disabilities:
The VOICE data suggests that collegiate esports players, directors, and staff are predominantly male, while a large number of players are Asian.
On race and gender, five (5) of the 11 programs in the study showed “statistically significantly more” collegiate esports players who were Asian compared to their respective student bodies. Only 1.3% of the player survey respondents (3 of 238) were Black or African American (Non-Hispanic), while two (2) of 11 institutions had “statistically significantly less” esports players who were Black or African American compared to their respective student bodies.
All the institutions with varsity roster gender data revealed “statistically significantly more” male collegiate esports players compared with the gender distribution of the general student body at that same institution—across the varsity esports player rosters, 91.3% were male, 6.9% female, 1.3% non-binary, and 0.6% transgender. Additionally, all collegiate esports directors in this sample were male, while only 14.3% (2 of 14) of the esports non-director staff within the sample were female.
One (1) out of three (3) institutions with disability data revealed that there were “statistically significantly more” collegiate esports players with disabilities (20.0%) compared to the general student body (4.27%); out of the player survey sample, 8.4% of esports players self-reported a disability while 6.3% preferred not to say. For those that disclosed the disability, the most prevalent were Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (5) and autism (3).
Finally, and not pertaining to race/gender, approximately 10.0% of surveyed collegiate esports players did not participate in any extracurricular activity in high school; while only 47.2% of the players claimed they played any traditional sport in high school, and only 29.7% played high school esports.
Budgetary Constraints
Overall, the data showed that students don’t necessarily engage in esports for a financial benefit such as student aid, scholarships, or other forms of assistance—mostly because these things aren’t available at most institutions due to funding. The benefits, according to players, are social aspects, skill building related to esports/gaming, networking, leadership experience, etc.
Most schools don’t have the budget to provide scholarships and other support systems. Annual tuition-based esports scholarship budgets range between $26,000 – $270,000 USD, with only five (5) of 12 institutions surveyed offering esports scholarships. This is likely because annual esports budgets range between $15,000 and $970,000, which has to cover operations, salaries, travel, registration fees, and more. It should be noted that one institution surveyed has a massive budget, while other schools are stuck in the lower end of five-figure budgets, on average, according to the data.
Finally, it should be noted that the most common method for recruiting collegiate esports players as reported by esports directors (12) and staff (14) were through X and Discord, followed by the occasional on-campus recruitment events aimed at the student body, and through content creation.
According to the data, seven (7) of 11 institutions offer partial esports scholarships, but three (3) of these institutions only offer one individual partial esports scholarship total. Directors report on the varsity esports player rosters that 11.5% have a partial esports scholarship, 4.8% have a full esports scholarship, 0.3% have an esports graduate assistantship (while also playing on an esports team), and 83.3% have no esports scholarship.
Finally, only 0.3% of female players (2 of 598) earn any type of collegiate esports scholarship, with none earning a full scholarship—6.9% of the sample were female.
Educational Aspirations
The data shows that students who engage in esports tend to be studying in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) focused fields; the top five (5) self-reported academic majors by esports players included computer science (19.4%), engineering (15.4%), business/ management (6.2%), information technology/cybersecurity (5.7%), and game design/interactive media (4.4%)—approximately 65.2% of surveyed collegiate esports players reported majors in STEM related fields. The average “self-reported grade point average” (GPA) by the collegiate esports player survey was 3.38; average GPA as reported by the varsity esports player roster (reported by the program directors) was 3.27; 13.4% had a perfect 4.0 GPA, with only 3.7% having less than a 2.0 GPA.
Seven (7) of the 11 institutions showed computer science as a top esports player major despite that major not being one of the top three fields of study at that institution, with the second most frequent top esports player major that did not match one of the top three (3) fields of study at four (4) of the 11 institutions was engineering (any).
Regarding the single main reason student players selected their current university, only 13.7% (30 out of 219) of surveyed players mentioned esports in their open response, indicating that esports “may have been an unexpected added benefit.” The most common reasons included perceived academic program quality and reputation (28.3%), scholarships/financial aid (26.0%), convenience or proximity to home (16.4%), and competitive and/or academic esports program (13.7%).
Of those collegiate esports players who take academic esports coursework, 39.4% reported that the availability of esports academic courses at their university had at least “a little impact” in deciding to attend, including over 13% of this sub-sample reporting that was the main reason for attending; but 69.6% of collegiate esports players report not taking any academic esports courses.
One bright spot for administrators may be that eight (8) of 11 institutions “demonstrated statistically significantly more” undergraduate students within the esports program transferring to the university compared to transfer-in rates of the general student body at the same institution; 26.3% of undergraduate esports players reported transferring to their current university.
Also encouraging is that approximately 94.8% of surveyed collegiate esports players plan to stay at their current university until they graduate, while only 4.7% reported that they “don’t know”, and one (1) player (0.5%) does not plan to stay until graduation.
Out of 215 collegiate esports players, 53.5% feel that the esports program is keeping them at their current institution until they graduate, while 46.5% perceive the esports program has no impact. Of the 30.6% of surveyed collegiate esports players who take esports academic courses/program, 40.4% report it had at least a little impact, including 13.6% responding that the academic esports courses/program was the main reason for staying at their current university.
On average, esports program directors reported an average esports player graduation rate of 85.9%, while the student body at these institutions averaged about 76.1% for the 6-year graduation rate; 10 of 12 esports programs report a graduation rate higher than their institution’s.
Benefits, According to Players
The top three reasons surveyed collegiate esports players report why they play collegiate esports include competition (35.1%), fun and enjoyment (35.1%), and community and social aspects (16.8%).
The most commonly cited general benefits of collegiate esports by players were community and friendship (55.0%), competition (27.2%), personal growth & life skill development (21.3%), team environment/teamwork, & team skill building (20.3%), scholarships and financial rewards (16.8%), networking & career opportunities (14.9%), esports skill development (14.9%), and fun/enjoyment/satisfying a passion for Gaming (14.9%).
Personal benefits of esports in college according to players included community and friendships (43.1%), competition and a skill display platform (26.2%), enjoyment and stress relief (15.8%), personal growth and overall experience (15.3%), teammates and team experiences (14.9%), esports game knowledge and esports skill development (12.9%), scholarship and financial benefits (12.4%), support system (10.9%), education and resume building (7.4%), and career and networking opportunities (6.9%).
Collegiate esports directors surveyed believe esports fosters a sense of community and belonging, provides personal and professional development opportunities; communication, leadership, and industry-related competencies; serves as a career pipeline into the esports industry; helps players attain careers in esports, gaming, and adjacent industries; and acts as a student recruitment and retention tool (i.e., to attract and retain students who may not otherwise engage with traditional university activities, according to the report).
Program staff believe the primary perceived general benefits of collegiate esports include community and social connection; student engagement and inclusion involvement; career development and industry opportunities; and skill development.
Researchers revealed that a forthcoming academic publication that includes “interpretation and discussion surrounding this study’s findings” will be published in an academic journal at a later date.
Our reporting only touches on a small part of the data available in the report. For all of the data from the report and an extensive look at the methodology for this study, check out the following publications: