Announced in December 2018, Mizzou Esports began participating in esports as an officially sanctioned, varsity activity for undergraduate and graduate students in August of 2019. Rosters are selected from current students who have full-time status at the University of Missouri. Mizzou Esports is a program within the Division of Student Affairs and is not part of Mizzou Athletics nor currently organized or regulated by the NCAA or NAIA. Mizzou Esports is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE).
Highlights
- Top Collegiate Program: Our scholarship players compete in Overwatch, Rocket League, and League of Legends, and have seen tremendous success in the inaugural year of competition. Rocket League won the NACE Rocket League Championship in Atlanta, Georgia in November 2019, Overwatch was one of 12 teams to be invited to compete in the Tespa Varsity Invitational, and League of Legends competes in the RSAA-sanctioned Midwest Esports Conference, traveling to universities in Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri for our regular season matches.
- NACE Champions: Rocket League (2019), Overwatch Spring Cup (2020)
- Intercollegiate competition: Teams compete in intercollegiate play as part of the National Association of Collegiate Esports and will compete in regular season competition against member schools and selected tournaments from TESPA, Collegiate League of Legends (cLoL), Collegiate Star League (CSL), and other organizations.
- Innovators: Mizzou Esports was the 1st SEC school to commit to a varsity esports program on campus. (NACE Directory)
- Four Game Rosters: Overwatch, Rocket League, League of Legends, and Valorant
- Scholarship Athletes: There are currently 21 student athletes receiving some form of scholarship to compete for the Mizzou Esports program. The total valuation of our scholarship packages in 2020-2021 is almost $100,000.
- Training Facility: Mizzou Esports practices and competes in the 5,000-square-foot Training Facility, located in the southwest corner of campus in Center Hall. The facility will soon be home to a 2,200 square-foot LAN Center and studio. This LAN Center will provide any gamer on campus with a safe and comfortable place to play games, meet other students with similar interests, study in a unique environment, find hands-on learning opportunities within the Mizzou Esports program, and unwind in an area that few college campuses have ever seen. The studio will be used to produce high-quality collegiate esports content. This LAN Center is expected to completed in the 2021-2022 academic year.
- Beyond Gaming: In addition to competition, Mizzou Esports will create academic partnerships and public gaming areas to benefit the Mizzou community and provide hands-on learning opportunities in one of the fastest growing fields.
In the News
MizzouRec partners with Esports team to create new public gaming lounge
Published by The Maneater Sept. 8, 2023
Mizzou Esports is partnering with MizzouRec to create a public gaming lounge that will be open between the hours of 4-10 p.m. on weekdays, and noon to 6 p.m. on weekends. Funding for this new lounge has largely come from a private donor.
Mizzou Gaming Lounge opens with plans to grow community
Published by the Columbia Missourian Feb. 2, 2023
The Mizzou Gaming Lounge, a space for competitive and casual gamers alike, opened Thursday at MU’s Center Hall.
Inside Mizzou’s new eSports Gaming Lounge and its goal to increase student engagement
Published by the Columbia Daily Tribune Feb. 4, 2023
Fulfilling a desire to increase student engagement, the University of Missouri on Thursday formally opened its new, 2,200-square-foot gaming lounge inside Center Hall.
Mizzou esports has a place to call home
Published by COMO Magazine Feb. 8, 2023
The gaming lounge and training facility is central to the esports community.