John Carroll University offers students an abundance of activities and clubs to become involved with on campus, some of the most popular activities including Intramural and Club Sports. 

Offering 13 club sports, the Department of Recreation has made many additions to the sport clubs this year. Men’s Basketball, Men’s Soccer, and Esports have all been added to the list of offered clubs through the Department of Recreation.

While all of the new clubs are getting plenty of traction and student involvement, the Esports club was recently recognized during Tower Time as their new lounge was opened to the JCU community. 

“The club was originally started by the administration,” said Andrew Chiappetta ‘25, President of the Esports Club. “Many alumni and even faculty members had expressed interest in an Esports club and the university was seeing many prospective students expressing additional interest. Meetings were held throughout last year and the club was formed.”

The club is focused on both the casual and competitive aspects of video games as the goal of the club is to create a safe place for people to play video games on campus. The club is open to players of all skill levels with the hope to help everyone become better at the games they enjoy. 

“I really want to get people excited about Esports,” continued Chiappetta. “I feel like a lot of people don’t feel that Esports is for them because they might not play a ‘popular’ Esports game. I want people to realize that anyone can be competitive in whatever video game they enjoy playing.”

Differing from many of the other sports clubs, Esports requires a pretty technical setup for both practices and competitions. 

“The Esports Lounge was originally a computer lab located in Dolan Science E337. The room has now been transformed into a space for the club to use,” explains Chiappetta. “Within our space, we have set-ups to play games as well as lounge-type furniture. We have a total of 12 high-end gaming computers and 9 gaming consoles. We offer all major console brands including Switch, Xbox, and Playstation. All our devices are the newest generation and offer some of the best gaming experiences possible. The room is open to club members at all times of the day, allowing them to go in and play between classes or in their free time. Currently, the room is card access only for club members and will likely stay this way. The university has provided not only the space to play but all of the devices that we offer.”

With the high-tech space and devices, many students have expressed their interest in the club either by signing up to be a member or attending Tower Time to explore the possibilities of Esports Club. 

“So far, students have been very eager to get in and play,” expressed Chiappetta. “We have already started planning multiple tournaments open to both club members only and some for all John Carroll Students. Since opening the room to club members, every time I go to the lounge, at least one member is there playing.”

So far, the club has just been focusing on getting up and off the ground by adding new members and expanding on the spaces and opportunities they have been offered, but there are some big plans on the horizon. 

“We are currently planning a Mario Kart tournament open to any John Carroll student,” explained Chiappetta. “It will be held on Sat., Dec. 3. Sign-ups will open later this month. Keep an eye out in the Student Center Atrium for a pre-registration event. It will be $5 to play and there will be prizes for first, second, and third place as well as giveaways.”

If you are interested in learning more about the Esports Club or other sports clubs that the Department of Recreation offers, you can click the link provided.