By: Eric Lehman
As you walk through the lower floor of the John J. Cox Student Center, past familiar landmarks like the bowling alley and Twisted Café, a glow of neon purple lights marks the entrance to UB’s new eSports Lounge. Vibrant track lighting illuminates the room, casting a colorful aura over the comfortable gaming chairs, sleek black desks, and LED monitors. Arriving in this cozy atmosphere, it may be easy to overlook the stirring competition currently underway — students, headsets in place, are fully immersed in their gameplay, determined to claim victory for UB.
For UB students, this space isn’t just a place to game; it’s a place to unwind and connect. “The eSports lounge is an exciting place that brings people together,” says Ashton Lankowski, a first-year Business Administration major. “It’s a spot you can come to hang out and just relax to get school off your mind.”
“We put a lot of thought into designing this lounge,” says David Graham, Director of Wheeler Recreation Center and Campus Recreation. “I’ve seen eSports facilities across the state, and this is top-notch.”
With expanded hours as of the fall 2024 semester, students can walk in and play on any of the 24 computer stations or consoles. “This is yet another way for UB students to unwind, relax, and enjoy campus life,” Graham says. “UB is a place to study, but it is also a place to build healthy habits, get involved, and have fun!”
At the cutting edge of gaming
The addition of an eSports Lounge puts the University — and our students — at the forefront of higher education. With eSports projected as a significant college recruitment tool for Gen Z, the facility and its related programs enrich campus culture by creating a sense of community, improving academic performance, promoting career-ready soft skills, and even cultivating more diversity in STEM majors.
With extensive experience, head coach Ali Dika is thrilled to help shape UB’s growing gaming program. “Any game in the world will run flawlessly on these computers,” says Dika, “You can bring your own peripherals, like a mouse or headset, if you want, but we have top-quality equipment ready to go.”
A 2021 graduate of the University of Connecticut, Dika brings years of competitive gaming experience to the program. As a former team leader for games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, and Fortnite, he led his teams to top rankings in the U.S . Even with years of success in the world of online gaming, he is in awe of the facility here at UB. “We had a massive gaming club, but we didn’t have a dedicated stadium like this. I’m happy to be a part of a program that cared enough to invest in an eSports facility.”
Dika now coaches four teams competing in the ECAC eSports League against other colleges, including Overwatch, FIFA, Madden Football, and Rainbow Six Siege. Teams may vary based on student interest, and they practice regularly for competitions with global opponents. “I’d love to see us expand to twelve teams by next year,” says Dika. “The sky’s the limit.”
UB eSports gamers are a diverse group — hailing from places ranging from Nepal to Ghana and across majors from Dental Hygiene to Criminal Justice. It’s no surprise that many competitive-minded student-athletes also play. “The lounge is a great place to hang out with friends, play games, and compete together,” says Dewey Schoenfelder, a Computer Science major and Men’s Lacrosse midfielder who plays Rainbow Six Siege. “A big group from the lacrosse team comes to watch, so it’s always a great time.”
For students who may be used to solo gaming, UB’s facility offers a welcoming community. “If you’re gaming on your own anyway, this is a great way to meet people,” Dika adds. “It’s a safe space with so many opportunities to connect you with people that you never would have beforehand. You will meet friends that you can play games with for decades.”
Developing future-proof skills
Dika also sees other benefits for student gamers who participate. “The teamwork skills you can develop by playing eSports are important for any career,” he says. “As a gamer, I learned how to succeed on the teams at my job. College students may not realize that most careers involve teamwork, often with people of varying strengths and weaknesses. That’s life.”
Following college, Dika became president and director of business relations for the North American Competitive Collegiate Series (NACCS), an eSports league founded in 2019. He then worked as the North American eSports manager for eSports Entertainment Group, and today, he works at Rogers & Cowan PMK, an agency servicing Mastercard’s sponsorship of League of Legends and VALORANT. Coaching at UB allows him to do even more of what he loves.
“I’ve been working in games for six years now,” he says. “This is my true interest, my true passion, working on something I love and helping it grow.”
The future of eSports: A path to a lucrative career
University of Bridgeport offers an eSports concentration within the BS in Sport Management program for students looking to turn their passion into a career. This concentration combines data analytics, management, and event planning for roles in eSports administration and management. Students gain insight into the financial, legal, and ethical aspects of eSports, as well as production and media strategies.
With career opportunities in eSports expanding rapidly, Dika’s success story is just one example of what’s possible. Meanwhile, the rest of us can enjoy the energy of the Purple Knights’ eSports stadium in the Student Center.
The future of UB’s eSports program promises more open hours, more teams, and more students enrolled in eSports courses. “We’re looking forward to hosting more tournaments,” Graham says. “The future is bright. Bright purple.”
Eric D. Lehman is the director of publications and associate professor of English at University of Bridgeport. He is the author or editor of 22 books, including “New England Nature, A History of Connecticut Food,” and “Bridgeport: Tales from the Park City.” His biography of Charles Stratton, “Becoming Tom Thumb,” won the Henry Russell Hitchcock Award from the Victorian Society of America and was chosen as one of the American Library Association’s outstanding university press books of the year. His novella “Shadows of Paris” and novel “9 Lupine Road” were finalists for the Connecticut Book Award. He has been consulted on diverse subjects and quoted by The Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, the BBC, the History Channel, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and The Wall Street Journal.