GFU Esports Team Heads into Fifth Year with New Coach, National Titles

NEWBERG, Ore. — At George Fox University, 18 athletes practice five days a week throughout the school year, preparing to compete every week — all without stepping on a field or court.

Instead, they grab controllers, mice, and keyboards to log in to games like Rocket League, Valorant, and League of Legends, competing virtually against other colleges across the country.

“Esports,” short for electronic sports, is a growing field of organized, multiplayer video game competitions. Broadcasts of these competitions between skilled players are typically live streamed online to massive audiences, generating economic opportunities including brand sponsorships, merchandise, prize money, and media rights. 

The prize pool for the Esports World Cup — which featured more than 2,000 players across 25 competitions — totaled $70 million.

It’s not just sitting around playing video games, said GFU’s director of esports and player development Bradley Thurber — esports is a skilled competition that can lead to a highly competitive career.

Thurber took the position in January as an alumnus and former football player. Now, about six weeks into his first full season, Thurber leads a program that launched in 2021.

“My passion is training young men and women to be leaders and significant contributors to the world around them,” Thurber said. “Whether it’s Esports, football, or ministry, this is another opportunity for me to step into the lives of students and help raise them up in a way that they can go out and do the same thing for others.”

Competition Gaming

Although Thurber’s background is in traditional athletics, including football, he said he grew up playing video games noncompetitively on systems like the original Xbox, released in 2001.

“I was never hugely competitive in video games, but I’ve been playing since I was a kid,” he said. “It’s been cool to see it shift into competition. High-level performance is universal, so I’ve been able to take the same mentality I applied to football and other sports and push it in a different direction.”

Esports is not an NCAA-sanctioned sport and does not adhere to the traditional structure. Instead, there are three major national conferences, which place teams into divisions based on game rank and skill rather than school size, enrollment, or location.

In the five years since GFU esports has been in existence, they’ve won seven total national championships in various divisions. 

“It’s not necessarily that we’re the best team out of every team that competed in that conference, but we were the best team in our division nationally,” Thurber said. “We’re a small team, but our players are highly skilled in the games they play, so we’re often placed with upper-level competition.”

Players also practice teamwork strategies, currently working through The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and other team-bonding and trust-building activities. They review previous competitions and set goals for upcoming matches.

“We want to be successful on the screen, but there’s so much you can do outside of it that leads to that success,” Thurber said. “We set up an obstacle course where everyone closed their eyes, and one person had to guide the group through using only vocal directions. The purpose was to focus on clear and concise communication.”

These skills translate not only into fast-paced gaming environments but also into life skills students can carry with them after graduation — even if they don’t pursue gaming.

Gaming Costs

Although there’s still a strong local area network, or LAN, culture in Esports, the George Fox team doesn’t travel. LAN parties are in-person events where gamers bring their systems to a shared space and connect over a local network instead of playing online from anywhere in the world.

“We don’t travel — that’s one of the benefits of esports and why so many universities are picking it up,” Thurber said. “Everything we do happens from our arena. We compete, practice, and do team activities all online.”

There are occasional exceptions, such as last year when a sub-team traveled to Sacramento for a national championship, but Thurber said most competitions remain virtual.

“Like most universities, we have a production team that broadcasts our competitions,” Thurber said. “It’s a big publicity opportunity to put our matches on social media. When those big in-person events do happen, they often sell out arenas across the country for major college and professional events.”

Thurber said startup costs can be high because of the need for new PCs and technology, but the investment lasts. One computer can serve the team for up to five years before replacement — unlike helmets, pads, or cleats that need frequent updates.

“Costs are more spread out over time,” Thurber said. “We might spend a larger amount up front than some other sports, but for the next three years we’re set to go. Financially, it balances out.”

Building Life Skills

Going professional in gaming is extremely competitive, but Thurber said the team’s focus on life skills prepares players for success in any field.

“If we have players trying to achieve a pro level of gameplay, even if they don’t reach that point, this still benefits them when they graduate,” Thurber said. “My goal is for each of these guys to go to an employer and say, ‘I played esports for George Fox,’ and have that mean something — that they can do difficult things, work as a team, lead well, and take clear direction.”

Thurber said it’s rare to see professional gamers with four-year degrees.

“I want to be known as a successful team,” he said. “As we grow and expand, we’re recruiting and developing high-level players, but I also want George Fox to be known as a program where students can grow as people in ways that benefit them after college. From an achievement standpoint, we’re creating a winning environment that strives for excellence in everything we do. Out of that, we want to develop high-integrity, high-character, and highly successful people.”

Thurber said he hopes to see the Esports team grow to 35 or 40 players within the next three years.

Spectators can watch George Fox’s Esports team compete live on its Twitch channel.