Gaming Community Celebrates State-of-the-Art Space on the Lakeside Campus

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday, Champlain College will celebrate the grand opening of a state-of-the-art esports arena on the Miller Center Lakeside campus in Burlington, VT.

The new facility is home to Champlain’s varsity and club esports teams. In addition to supporting students in competitive play, the esports program paves the way for students to learn about and gain experience in the multi-billion dollar video game industry, developing skills in related fields such as marketing, graphics design, broadcast media production, communications, business management and more.

The space is equipped with more than 24 PC stations, a training room, digital media stations and a full broadcast suite. “Our new esports arena rounds out Champlain’s incredible game offerings and gives students the opportunity to explore the game industry at every level,” said Christian Konczal, director of esports at Champlain College. “This is a space where our student community can come together to prepare for the highest levels of competitive play and a variety of game-related careers.”

Varsity esports in Champlain launched in Spring 2022 and currently has teams competing in Valorant and Rocket League. In the first NECC season, Champlain was second in Valorant and third in Rocket League. Varsity esports athletes are eligible for performance-based scholarships. Champlain’s club team is also highly regarded – the Overwatch team were their division’s 2022 NECC National Champions.

The esports arena is a key asset to Champlain’s extensive gaming experience, including its new varsity and longstanding and highly successful student-driven club teams, renowned career-focused academic game programs, and a dedicated career counselor for game majors.

Champlain College was the first university to offer a four-year academic program in video game development in 2004. Today, Champlain’s robust academic majors Game Studio represent every aspect of the game development industry, including design, programming, production management, art and animation, and, new in 2021, Business & Publishing and Sound Design.

Ranked as a top 10 game design school by Princeton Review, Champlain immerses students in an interdisciplinary, collaborative environment that provides the real-life experience of producing, designing, programming, and publishing games. Students can also study abroad at Champlain’s campus in Montreal, a global game development hub. Champlain graduates can be found in game studios across the country, including Rockstar Games, Velan Studios and Bungie.

The video game industry is booming – and is expected to continue to grow exponentially. PwC’s 2022 Global Entertainment and Media Outlook predicts that the global gaming industry will be worth $321 billion by 2026 – citing virtual reality (VR) and gaming as powerful growth engines. This means more in-demand jobs and career opportunities for esports players and gaming students.

Graduates of Champlain’s gaming programs already see an 85% hiring rate in gaming-related jobs within 6 months of graduating. This expansion of the university’s gaming facilities and programs will help students be well-positioned for careers in the industry.

About Champlain College: Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, non-profit private school in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Canada and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and over 90 residential undergraduate and online undergraduate and graduate programs and certificates. Champlain’s signature career-oriented approach to higher education embodies the idea that real learning happens when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain is in multiple categories of US News and World Report’s “Best Colleges,” including Best Value Schools, Best Colleges in the North, Best Colleges for Veterans, and Top Performers on Social Mobility. Champlain was also listed in The Princeton Review’s “The Best 387 Colleges” in 2022 and is listed in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2021 as one of the “Best and Most Interesting Schools” in the United States, Canada, and Britain. recognized as a 2022 College of Distinction for its “engagement, education, community, and outcomes.” For more information, visit www.champlain.edu.

Burlington, VT (September 13, 2022) – Champlain College