NOV 21, 2024 | NEWS | By Margaret Freeman and Olivia Link
Members from the Colorado College Esports Team requested $53,750 from the Colorado College Student Government Association during a meeting on Nov. 7. If approved, the funds to fulfill the budget request would come from a 7% increase to the student activity fee, a cost attached to every student’s tuition to cover CCSGA related events.
The esports team is currently funded by the Office of Information Technology (colloquially known as ITS), which the team said makes them vulnerable to budget cuts or departmental changes. Furthermore, the Athletics department was unable to allocate money as the NCAA does not recognize video games as a sport. Some alumni of the program have donated, but not substantially.
The money would go towards covering office supplies, software licenses, contracted coaches, tournament entry fees, equipment purchases, maintenance and student employee salaries.
CC’s esports team started in 2015 and has grown over the years as the video game industry continues to take off. The team has both varsity and junior varsity sections and a total of 35 players who compete in six different games. Four of these six teams face off against other schools in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, bringing home several first-place titles. Players practice and compete in the esports lab, with a varsity space, streaming booth and event space open to everyone.
The team hopes to expand their influence, but has hosted only a few events so far, including watch parties, an alumni open house, prospective student events and Femme Fridays for people who identify as female or nonbinary.
Leaders explained that the esports team serves as an alternative to people who are unable or unwilling to engage in the college’s outdoor sports culture and teaches these non-athletes crucial skills like collaboration, conflict resolution and leadership. The esports lab representatives said it provides a safe space to those with marginalized identities, and is one of the few spaces on campus that is not predominantly white.
CCSGA members acknowledged the esport program’s potential for disabled students, but they would like to see a greater commitment to inclusivity from the team, whose headquarters in Palmer are not easily accessible.
The Finance Committee elected to suspend the vote on the fund request due to a lack of more detailed information about the budget and the specifics of student employment.
CCSGA also heard a request for increased funding for Intramural (IM) and Club sports.
Currently, the budget is $25,000 for IM sports and $75,000 for club sports. The proposed increase of $27,500 is spread across both groups. About 70% of the student body participates in IM sports. There are also 16 club teams with approximately 450 members (21% of the student body) according to the submitted request from the group asking for the increase in funds. Most of the current budget for both leagues of sports goes to employment for people such as student referees. If agreed upon by CCSGA, the increased budget would go towards transportation to and from games.
The school does not provide transportation for IM and club sports unless a player or team gets to the championship round of their respective competitions. If this is the case, CC will split the cost of transportation with the player or team. The main concern with having students find other modes of transportation to competitions is that it is not the safest. If an accident occurs, students will pay for damages. It is not known how safe students’ personal vehicles are, but the school does know how safe the CC vans are.
Increasing the budget would also increase the accessibility of competitions for students, as not all players can rely on family and friends to fund buses and vans. Reign La France ‘25 who is part of the group proposing this increase in budget said that when it comes to transportation for these games, it is better that “it comes from CC than a student’s pocket.”
While there has yet to be a vote concerning the requests from esports and IM and club sports, CCSGA plans on continuing the discussion this block.