By Georgia Jackson, University Communications and Marketing
The University of South Florida has unveiled the USF Esports Living Lab – marking a significant milestone for the university’s premiere collegiate esports organization.
Located in the Campus Recreation Center, the 2,700-square-foot lab features an open space where 40 Lenovo Legion gaming PCs are available for recreational use by all students, a private gaming suite with six PCs for esports competition and a broadcast and design room equipped with production equipment for students covering live esports events. The lab will also include several console stations equipped with PlayStations, Xboxes and Nintendo Switches for community gaming.
“Esports represents the pinnacle of strategy, teamwork and collaborative competition, which is why we’ve decided to invest in this program at USF,” President Rhea Law said. “This new lab will provide many benefits for our students, such as allowing them to sharpen their skills, forge new friendships with like-minded peers and create lasting memories during watch parties, intramural activities and other special events hosted by USF Recreation & Wellness throughout the year.”
Since its launch in 2020, USF Esports has become a central hub for gaming on campus,
with a thriving Discord community of 3,500 members and 12 collegiate clubs that attract
more than 25 teams each semester to compete at the local, state, national and international
levels. The university also hosts the Battle for Florida, the largest collegiate esports
tournament in Florida, bringing together more than 30 teams from across the state
to compete in Rocket League and League of Legends.
“Our Esports program is one of the top three in the country, based on Twitch following — and that was without this room,” said Jay Souza, assistant vice president of planning and development for Student Success. “Now that we have this room, this is the best facility, probably on the East Coast, definitely in the southeast region.”
The addition to expanding access and encouraging in-person community building, the new Esports Living Lab will also serve as an academic resource to students enrolled in Business of Esports, Digital Content in Esports and other courses.
“Having access to this innovative resource will also allow our students to develop critical skills and prepare for career opportunities available through the Esports industry, such as business management, marketing, media production and broadcasting,” Law said.
The space will also host intercollegiate competitions and educational summer camps for K-12 students and support activities hosted by local schools and Cyber Florida – a state-funded center hosted at USF that is dedicated to positioning Florida as a leader in cybersecurity through education, research and outreach.
A representative from Hillsborough County Public Schools, who attended the grand opening and will connect local high schoolers with the space, called the Esports Living Lab “exactly the kind of thing USF should be doing.”
“Our goal for our esports lab is to serve the community,” said USF esports coordinator Andrew Ross. “You don’t have to be good at gaming to come play here. You don’t have to be on a competitive team to come play here. If you like to queue up with your friends, you can come do that here. It’s a space that serves everybody, not just competitive gamers.”
Excitement reached a peak when USF Provost Prasant Mohapatra and Vice President for Student Success Cindy DeLuca cut the ceremonial ribbon and invited guests to explore the space. Many attendees, including students and alumni, quickly found seats and began testing out the equipment.
“Let the games begin.” Mohapatra said.
Jorge Delgado, a mechanical enginnering major and founder of the USF Fighting Game Club, and club president Joshua Proctor, an information science major, said the space would be a huge upgrade from the Skypad Gaming Room, located in the Marshall Student Center.
“This new lab will lead to more community building and connections with other community organizers,” said Proctor, who plays Guilty Gear Strive competitively.
“He’s really good,” said Delgado, who was more excited about the private broadcast and design room, where students can cover live esports events and gain commentating and public speaking skills.
Quick Facts
- 12 USF esports clubs
- 26 USF esports teams in spring 2024
- 3,554 times temporary space was used last year
- 3,500 USF esports Discord server members
USF Esports Living Lab
- 40 PCs for student use
- Private gaming room for club teams
- Production studio for USF esports student staff
- Four console gaming stations with PlayStations, Xboxes and Nintendo Switches
- Computers, consoles, mice, keyboards, headsets, controllers and mouse pads provided
- Free for student use
On the St. Petersburg campus, students have the option to rent video game consoles from the Edge or congregate in the Cove, a community gaming space in the University Student Center, to play games and host club meetings. A new game room located on the first floor of the Campus Student Center and Atala Residence Hall at USF Sarasota-Manatee is now open.