From an office in downtown Franklin, plans to connect esports players with universities and college programs are coming together.
Harena Data, partnering with Indiana Sports Corp., helped establish the Esports Combine. The event provides a virtual showcase where esports candidates from across the world can demonstrate their talents in front of the nation’s top recruiters, potentially earning college scholarships for their sports.
And this year, Ball State University is joining the team.
Harena Data, the Indiana Sports Corp. and Ball State are working together to make central Indiana a hub of esports. More than 10,000 gamers and 200 colleges and universities are taking part this year in the Esports Combine, which includes educational roundtables, presentations by leading industry professionals and partnerships to get players recruited.
For all sides involved, the partnership only strengthens the state’s role as an esports leader.
“We believe Indiana will be to esports what Silicon Valley is to technology. By pulling together all the leaders in this space and bringing them to one event like the combine, we can make this a reality,” said Bill Dever, chief strategy officer for Harena Data.
Esports has grown into a powerful industry which market experts predict will reach revenues of $1.8 billion by 2022, according to Newzoo, a gaming analytics and marketing research firm. Competitions have been broadcast to huge audiences, including those shown on ESPN. Worldwide audience size is expected to be 474 million viewers this year, with predictions calling for more than 577 million by 2024.
Seeing that growth potential, Ball State has added emphasis to the emerging field of esports, both in the classroom and gaming arena.
“Esports is something that is exploding around the country, both at the collegiate level and just in general,” said Dan Marino, esports director at the university. “Ball State’s initiative in a lot of ways is to be on the cutting edge of as many different industries as possible, and thankfully esports is one of those.”
In January, Ball State started its varsity esports program, becoming a founding member of the Esports Collegiate Conference. And in April, the school opened a state-of-the-art esports center. About 700 students are part of the school’s esports club.
The school’s esports production concentration teaches students to work in esports media, learning the history of the sport, video production, streaming and live event broadcast.
“With the way esports is growing, both competitively and casually, there are a number of opportunities for new careers that didn’t exist even five years ago,” Marino said. “Esports production is probably one of the most in-demand fields. There’s always a need for content to be made, and to deliver it in the most professional way possible.”
Looking for organizations to partner and work with, Ball State officials did not have to look far.
Since its founding in 2017, Harena Data has become a leader in the esports world. The business’ platform has helped organize massive tournaments and competitions at drive-ins, helped the NCAA stage its own esports championship and partnered with the Indiana Soccer Association to form a new league when the pandemic shut down most traditional sports.
The Esports Combine was created in 2020, where players from all over the world competed virtually to showcase their abilities to colleges with esports programs. About 550 scholarships resulted from that event.
This year’s combine is set for Oct. 15 to 17, providing another boon into Indiana’s impact on the industry.
“Esports is a new economic engine, and sports is a big foundation of what the Indiana growth economy is,” Dever said.
During a meeting with the Indiana Sports Corp. to introduce their program, Marino discussed opportunities for Ball State to be a greater part of the esports ecosystem in the state. That led to discussions about partnering on the Esports Combine, and connected them with Harena Data.
The university’s perspective on esports recruiting proved a valuable addition.
“We talked about what esports recruiting should look like, and what it should look like for the high school students attending and those representing the colleges that will also be in attendance,” Marino said. “They invited us to take a more proactive role in the combine. We’re so excited to be part of this event and build off of it.”
The opportunity for Harena Data to work with Ball State was one that provided benefit all around, Dever said.
“We’re very blessed to work with them,” he said. “They’ve made a very innovative flow into esports and esports education, but they’ve done it in a very organic way, building off of existing disciplines.”
