Video games have grown from the era of arcades to a multibillion-dollar industry. That growth has also created a movement around embracing esports – competitive gameplay between teams and individuals.
A major part of that movement is being cultivated in universities, including in the St. Louis area. Colleges are now offering scholarships to athletes for games like Valorant, Overwatch 2 or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Rob Powell is the founder of BGG Foundation, a nonprofit that hosts tournaments and mentors young gamers seeking scholarship opportunities. He said that despite a growing acceptance of gaming and esports, there is still work to be done.
“We are still at a generational divide where gaming didn’t have opportunities tied to it,” he said. “In 2023 [BGG Foundation] did its first-ever tournament at the Whitfield Foundation. That was the first time we presented a scholarship within the city of St. Louis to a participant to pursue gaming. Parents were there, community was there, people within the gaming industry were there. We had the government there. It broke open this idea to actually create something tangible. A pipeline.”
BGG Foundation hosted the HBCU Game Fest Tournament at the Legacy Center on March 1, 2024.
While gaming led to esports, they are different in practice. Powell maintains that esports should be compared to traditional sports.
“You can’t go to college playing Grand Theft Auto. You have to practice to get a win, you’ve got to know how to compete as a team,” he said. “[BGG Foundation is] trying to create those platforms where our kids and community are being scouted by multiple universities that are carrying esports.”
Beyond the BGG Foundation, Powell has a personal connection to the world of gaming. He turned his fandom of fighting video games into a marketing career with Sony’s PlayStation. It was there that he learned how philanthropic efforts and mentorship can support emerging esports athletes.
Miya Norfleet
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Fletcher Springfield, right, received an esports scholarship to Southeast Missouri State University.
“We turn our students’ and community’s passion for gaming into an actual tangible career. We have different programs where we include gaming in STEM, or we teach people about careers in [virtual reality],” Powell said. “We also do tournaments where we help kids get paid to game, but also tie that to them getting scholarship opportunities to pursue what they want by doing what they love.”
Fletcher Springfield, a rising freshman at Southeast Missouri State University, and esports athlete, is at the start of his esports journey. Along with a scholarship, he said support from his parents has been critical to his success.
“They were like, ‘We will keep taking you to these [tournaments] as long as you are willing and prepared to do your best,’” he said. “[My parents] will help me with anything that helps me become a better person for my future.”
Springfield said his current training regimen is improving his skills.
“Games as a whole have always been interesting to me. Story games helped with things like reading or interpretation. Puzzle games that are meant to make you think harder,” he said. “English isn’t the only language that a game will use. They’ll use languages like Spanish or Japanese, and you start recognizing those words more and more. You just got to go a little bit further, and you can start learning from it.”
Powell pointed out the varying ways video games relate to technology and creative careers.
“The gaming industry is so big. You can do things around engineering in video games. People who like to make music, you can make music for video games. If you want to be an actor, you can be a voice actor for video games,” Powell said. “If you like fashion, you can create costume designs for video games. It’s all circled around how we can be able to tailor gaming in many ways. It’s just a hook, as we like to say, to any experience.”
To learn more about the BGG Foundation, including its upcoming tournament, listen to “St. Louis on the Air” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
Using esports, a St. Louis foundation aims to help gamers score scholarships and careers
Related Event
What: BGG | Got Game Tournament
When: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. July 25
Where: St. Louis County Library-Clark Family Branch, 1640 S Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Layla Halilbasic is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.