Esports Program Profile: UC Irvine
Since its inception in Fall 2016, teams from UC Irvine have participated in various national collegiate and developer league championships independently. The esports program at UC Irvine holds the title of being the first public university to launch its varsity esports program.
Dominating the Field
Ever since it got its start in esports, University College of Irvine has remained a dominant name in the collegiate esports scene in the United States. The highly skilled League of Legends team from UC Irvine faced off against multiple colleges from all over the US in the 2018 College League of Legends Championship and managed to fight its way to victory.
After winning the National League of Legends Championship, the team made its way to the International Collegiate Championship 2018, where it represented the North American region on a global scale.
In the same year, the UC Irvine Overwatch team participated in the Overwatch Fiesta Bowl, where it managed to defeat esports veterans, including the University of Toronto and UC San Diego, to reach the finals and gave tough competition to UC Berkeley for the victory.
UC Irvine in the Spotlight
Besides their participation in numerous competitions over the past four years, the UC Irvine anteaters have managed to make headlines time and again because of their enviable esports program.
In 2017, College Magazine ranked the University of California, Irvine at the top of its list for the best schools for gamers in the United States, praising the well-knit gaming community and multiple esports opportunities for students.
UC Irvine was also the focus of a four-part documentary series on ESPN in 2019 that highlighted the esports program and varsity teams at the university. The docu-series provided a closer look at life as a varsity athlete at the university and the state-of-the-art gaming facility.
UC Irvine made headlines again in 2020 when the renowned gamer and Twitch streamer Imane Anys (Pokimane) donated $50,000 to fund esports scholarships at the university.
In March 2020, the University of California, Irvine launched Tools for Schools, a unique set of shared resources for high schools, colleges, and universities in the United States looking to start their own esports programs. In addition to the set guidelines for aspiring esports programs, the university also offers bi-monthly webinars to guide collegiate program directors about building and expanding their esports networks.
Be a UC Irvine Anteater
University of California, Irvine is the perfect example of a well-rounded esports program that offers great opportunities to its athletes for competing at national levels. The well-equipped gaming arena and the student-oriented esports program are ideal for gamers who want to pursue a balance between esports and academics during their collegiate years.
You can find out more about the University of California, Irvine and its esports program at Looking for Group. Visit the official website of UC Irvine here to learn more about the undergraduate courses, scholarships, and financial aid programs.
(this article is provided by Looking For Group, a Checkpoint XP content partner.)