Esports Media Minor
In the esports media minor at the University University of Central Oklahoma, students acquire skills in epsorts media productions, including livestreaming and shoutcasting (commentating), to prepare them for jobs in the esports industry. The minor orients students to the cultural significance of esports and current practices in esports media production.
Coursework brings students into the UCO CO-OP Esports and Gaming Arena and its shoutcasting and streaming production rooms. Students gain professional experience creating livestreamed media for UCO’s esports teams in their intercollegiate competition.
Curriculum
The esports media minor combines the passion for video gaming with the principles of mass communication to provide a comprehensive education to prepare for careers in Esports media.
Required Courses
- Introduction to Esports
- Esports and Media
- Esports Shoutcasting
- Esports Media Participation
- Esports Management
Elective Courses
- Digital Audio Production
- Media Production
- Intro to Brand Comm/Advertising
- Sports Announcing
- Principles of Public Relations
- Sportscasting
- Podcasting
- Group and Team Communication
- History of Video Game Music
- Philosophy of Games
Careers in Esports Media
The most visible careers in esports are, of course, the pro players we see on stage in the grand finals. But just as with traditional athletics, the esports industry contains a host of career paths beyond the players including public relations, marketing, esports media production, esports journalism, event planning, tournament organizing, management and social media promotion.
The esports media minor at UCO provides students the opportunity to focus the skills taught throughout the UCO Department of Mass Communication.
Esports Community at UCO
The esports community at UCO is evergrowing, with both club and team organizations providing an opportunity to get involved and represent the university at the collegiate level.
Central Gaming Community
The Central Gaming Community is a student-led organization on campus for all things gaming. It serves as a hub for meeting fellow students to play and socialize about games, and it connects those interested in esports competitions to game captains.
UCO’s Esports Team
UCO entered the realm of collegiate esports in 2018 and has now competed successfully on the state and national level in titles such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros. and more. Open tryouts are held each semester for students interested in competing at the varsity level.
CO-OP Esports and Gaming Arena
The UCO CO-OP Esports Gaming Arena is a 5,700-square-foot, multi-million dollar facility operated by the University of Central Oklahoma to provide a home to the gaming community of Edmond, Oklahoma City and beyond. This state-of-the-art space features 48 gaming PCs, a tabletop gaming library and two virtual reality stations, as well as a shoutcasting room and streaming production room.
Courses in esports media make use of the space to record and livestream gameplay and commentary.
Visit the CO-OP Esports and Gaming Arena website.
Esports Faculty at UCO
Matt Knutson, Ph.D.
Matt Knutson, Ph.D., assistant professor, researches and teaches classes on esports and media studies. He received his doctorate from the University of California, Irvine in 2020. He also holds an M.A. from Boston College (2014), an M.Ed. (2009) and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (2007).
Knutson was featured on an episode of Limited Level Ups, a podcast about Magic: The Gathering, in which he was interviewed about his scholarship on the game's professional history and its failed attempt at making itself over as an esport.
He streams weekly office hours during the school year at twitch.tv/mwknutson.
David Nelson, Ed.D.
David Nelson, Ed.D., professor, worked 10 years in the broadcast industry in Oklahoma and Texas as a sports photojournalist, radio sports director, high school and college football radio color commentator, radio personality, radio program director, radio public service director and radio news director. He serves as the host of the Central Spotlight Podcast, which highlights UCO faculty, staff and student accomplishments. Nelson is a professor of Mass Communication and the faculty adviser to UCentral Radio, KZUC-LPFM.