TEMPE, Ariz. — In the realm of collegiate sports and competition, one often overlooked and misunderstood topic is that of esports.
Unbeknownst to many, esports clubs and programs are becoming increasingly common on college campuses across the U.S. Like many others, Arizona State is home to one such collective.
Asad Jamal, a current ASU student, found esports to help fill a void left in his life. Growing up, Jamal was engrossed in playing sports, particularly basketball and football.
As he approached and entered college, however, Jamal found himself dealing with multiple health challenges that sidelined him from his love for playing sports. After dealing with a series of multiple grade-3 concussions, he was urged by doctors to avoid playing physical sports, worried at the prospect of what it could potentially lead to in the case of continued injury.
A naturally competitive driven person, Jamal found himself with no outlet for his passion and added time with nothing to fill it with. In this newly created emptiness, Jamal found fulfillment in esports. It gave him something to focus his competitive drive and passion into, something he would come to enjoy so much more than sports ever provided.
Now, years removed from that pivotal moment, Jamal is in a position to help encourage others toward a love for gaming.
At Arizona State, esports is a bit of an afterthought, as it as at many other universities (BYU included), where its ability to thrive rests solely on the shoulders of the students who have a love and passion for the sport.
Hosting a membership of over 4,000 members, Arizona State’s Esports Association, and more specifically the Sun Devils Gaming (SDG) organization is one of the largest student-led associations on campus. Despite this, they receive the silent treatment from ASU.
“Our relationship with ASU is very hit or miss. It feels like there have been lots of missed opportunities," said Jamal, who now holds the position of co-president of the organization alongside Christopher Merriman. "We don't get much of a budget, if any, from the school, so much of our resources and money are from our members and leadership. We feel that the financial investments we make towards the org are worth it as we care about our players and staff and just want it all to grow."
For Jamal and Merriman, they are not letting the lack of university support keep them from cultivating an organization that can hold its own against the top programs in the country.
“Though we may not have the same kind of support or budget that lots of other collegiate esports teams and orgs have, we believe we have the talent and passion to be just as good as them," Jamal said. "We want to find people who have the drive to push ASU Esports into the limelight."
Unlike programs at places like Maryville or Boise State, the Sun Devils Gaming organization cannot provide the same financial support for the sake of trying to recruit talent, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to be the best.
Jamal explained that “most of all our talent is homegrown. If we're going to compete, we want to have the best environment and put our resources and time into developing our own talent and players. Through the right development, our players can grow to be the best versions of themselves, and we know our strengths lay there.”
Jamal believes that a lack of financial support makes them no less capable of an organization, and he isn’t wrong. SDG currently ranks within the top 10 nationally in Overwatch and the top 30 in Valorant, often going pound-for-pound against schools that have fully funded and supported esports programs.
“The passion of our members, players, and staff is what drives this organization. Sure, financial support would be awesome, but not having it doesn’t mean we can’t do our best and put forward our passion. We may lose time on it, but the org is more valuable than time ever will be,” said Jamal. “We simply try to have a positive outlook on our situation. We work within the confines we’re presented with and embrace our identity of having to do everything without university support while taking it to the big esports colleges.”
At the end of the day, Jamal and the Sun Devils Gaming organization are not letting anything stop them from being the best it can be and perusing its passion for esports and competition to the fullest.
“We believe in a future with esports. If we had real support and real funding, there is no doubt in my mind we would be the No. 1 program in the country," Jamal said. "But with or without it, our job is to help people see that esports is something for everything and the potential it has in the lives of those who are a part of it and we intend to be committed to that till the end."