Fall 2023 Recap
With the start of the Spring 2024 semester, it’s the perfect time to look back at Fall 2023 for CSUDH Esports. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights from last semester that showcase the Pillars of Esports!
CSU Counselor Conferences
Right as the semester started, we hit the ground running by presenting and tabling at the CSU Counselor Conferences in Anaheim, Pasadena, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Visalia. CSUDH Esports was honored to represent collegiate esports in the CSU system. We were able to connect with high school and community college counselors to talk about the benefits that collegiate esports bring to students, and hopefully spark interest in the CSU for prospective students!
VCT
Through the graciousness of AEG and The Shrine Auditorium, some of our CSUDH Valorant players were able to attend the VCT Quarterfinals as spectators. The VCTs, or Valorant Champions Tour, is one of the highest rated professional esports tournaments in the world. It was incredible for our college teams to see their professional counterparts compete at the highest level in the world–and maybe even learn a thing a two.
Our CSUDH Esports Teams
In Fall 2023, we added 2 new games to our esports lineup: Splatoon 3 and Rainbow 6 Siege. For Splatoon, the Toros who joined the team have never competed in any competitive environment, esports or otherwise. Nonetheless, their perseverance and dedication to improve not only led to a successful regular season, but they even made it to the playoffs! We also cannot ignore the success of our Overwatch 2 Cardinal team. They took home another championship victory for CSUDH in the NACE Open Plus Fall 2023 season. Congratulations!
Check out our team statistics!
APCC
In November, Nathan Nguyen, the director of the Asian & Pacific Culture Center on campus, had a wonderful idea for a campus wide Super Smash Bros Ultimate tournament! We were able to collaborate and host a tournament consisting of 16 different clubs, resource centers, and Greek life organizations in this ultimate battle. The CSUDH Esports representative came out on top, but only after a close battle with the Anime Club and Latinx Cultural Resource Center. This tournament was able to connect Toros of all backgrounds, who were able to come together and learn about what each other has to offer!
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Invite Our very own Kevin Buchmiller, director of esports at CSUDH, was invited to participate in a panel at the 2023 L.A Chamber of Commerce’s State of L.A Business Conference which was hosted at CSUDH. He was joined on stage by Leo Faria, the director of competition for Riot Games, and Adam Schortman, the head of content for LA Guard, to talk about the incredible work being done in the collegiate esports space and the economic implications this new industry brings to the city of L.A. Attendees were excited to hear the success stories of the Toros involved in esports on campus!
Charitable Contributions
CSUDH Esports worked with multiple charities throughout the Fall 2023 semester. For the month of August, we identified an urgent need to support the devastation caused by the wildfires on Maui and selected the Hawaii Community Foundation to support. We then followed up in September by raising awareness of the Mental Health Foundation. In October, for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we once again ran a Game Pink campaign through the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Finally, during the week of Veterans Day, we continued our support of the Wounded Warrior Project, and even hosted an in-person gaming day for the Veteran’s Resource Center on campus. Combined, we raised more than $750 in support of these organizations.
Jikei
In November, CSUDH Esports hosted their first international school visit, with more than 70 students from the Jikei Group of Japanese colleges. During their stay with us, we provided a tour (with amazing help from Campus Outreach), gave esports presentations, ran team-building activities, and even competed against each other. To be able to communicate, laugh, and participate in common interests truly showed how esports transcends the language barrier. We had an incredible time together and hope to welcome them back again in 2024.
Delete the Divide
In October we participated in #deletethedivide by getting involved at Tech Empowerment Day! During this involvement fair, roughly 6,000 L.A County middle and high school students gathered for a major event which aimed to advance digital equity for underserved communities. As part of these efforts, we expanded awareness about college esports and how it can contribute to a positive college experience. We hope to have gained some future Toros along the way!
1st Semester Open
We officially opened our esports lab, the Toro Esports Academy (TEA), in April 2023. This meant that Fall 2023 was our first full semester of operations! Throughout the semester, Toros were able to visit and play inside the lab. As designed, students were able to blend their love of gaming with a space to work on projects, class assignments, or simply enjoy some down time in between classes. Our CSUDH Esports teams utilized the space to compete at the highest level, brining home yet another divisional victory!
SoCal Collegiate Esports Conference hosted by RedBull
CSUDH Esports attended a college-only esports conference hosted by Red Bull and UConnect in Santa Monica, Calif. This opportunity allowed our student leadership to connect with their peers as well as major corporations, influencers, and prominent figures in the esports industry. These connections will last a lifetime, and we are extremely thankful to Red Bull for hosting such an awesome event!
SpookEsports
It was quite the frightful event at our SpookEsports Halloween celebration! A costume contest, cookie decoration, and mini tournament were just some of the activities we hosted just before Halloween. This event was the first major community event the CSUDH Esports club ran that utilized the new TEA Lab.
KJLH Men’s Empowerment Day
In September, CSUDH Esports was invited to the KJLH Men’s Empowerment Summit, where we were able to have our Director of Esports, Kevin Buchmiller, participate as a guest speaker alongside Derrin Horton, Nick Hamilton, and Rahshaun Haylock. The panel discussed the crossovers between sports and esports broadcasting, as well as some of the career opportunities for students who are involved with esports. Participants also visited the CSUDH Toro Esports Academy lab and networked directly with current CSUDH Esports students and players.
Compton Unified Esports League – Mario Kart
Compton Unified School District (CUSD) is a longtime partner school district with CSUDH Esports. At the end of 2023, Compton Unified hosted their Esports Immersive Showcase and graciously asked for our help! CSUDH Esports students designed and ran a 53-person Mario Kart Tournament aimed at student engagement. This tournament had to dynamically adjust the bracket size based on the number of signups they received in person. During the 3-hour event, the tournament was run without an issue and we crowned the ultimate winner!
We are excited for what Spring 2024 has in store! Go Toros!