This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.stmarytx.edu/2026/esports-gaming-culture/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us
St. Mary’s embraces the expansion of Esports and gaming tradition throughout campus
Athletics and Recreation
May 06, 2026
by Charles Perez (M.A. ’25)
Instead of gridiron, visualize a digital area. Instead of a chalkboard, a widescreen. Instead of security tools, a headset and controller.
Both the classroom curriculum and the varsity sports activities choices at St. Mary’s University have entered the realm of gaming whereas retaining a way of group.
After a profitable 2024-2025 season for the St. Mary’s Rattler Esports crew that included an undefeated season by the Rocket League crew, the Call of Duty crew incomes a third-place end within the ECAC Esports Division, and a cumulative 3.4 GPA for the season, Rattler Esports Director Kaitlin Teniente praises the crew’s development from the campus-wide help.
“In those early years, the strong community we have on campus shaped the culture within the program,” Teniente stated. “The University strives for academic and competitive excellence, and our students often meet and exceed those high expectations.”
With a stream of latest achievements, it’s no marvel that the highlight continues to shine on Rattler Esports.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Andrew J. Wilson, Ph.D., is aware of all in regards to the tradition of gaming.
After being gifted Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos by Blizzard Entertainment for his tenth birthday, Wilson was hooked. His curiosity in real-time technique video games laid the inspiration for his curiosity in recreation research whereas incomes his Ph.D. on the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication.
For Wilson, incorporating recreation research into communication research is an indication of the instances.
“Gaming is becoming increasingly normalized thanks to the streaming boom and more common representation on social media,” Wilson stated. “Every day, people are seeing gaming as a normal thing that celebrities, athletes and politicians enjoy. We’re slowly making progress at changing social understandings of who gamers are and what games are all about.”
In Spring 2026, Wilson taught a New Tech in Communication course, specializing in video games, tradition and rising media. This course engaged college students with the technological context of human communication and fostered essential fascinated by computer-mediated interplay; cyber identification; and points associated to gender, race, class and age.
When analyzing these matters by means of the lens of recreation research, Wilson introduces college students to the broader tradition of gaming, then focuses on matters akin to content material creator tradition, stay streaming, AI and gaming, labor practices within the recreation business, video games and psychological well being, the globalization of gaming and media illustration.
“I have students play games for assignments, and there’s always a point,” Wilson stated. “We’ll look at the narrative architecture of a game like Minecraft, or have them play a game where the main character is a female and then ask, ‘What does that representation do? Is it challenging or feeding into stereotypes?’ I ask students to play a first-person shooter game (typically a weapon-based game that is viewed through the eyes of the character) and reflect on the violence they see simulated and ask how it made them feel exiting that play experience.”
Wilson’s message to anybody hesitant to include gaming into their lives is straightforward: “Play more games. Invite your friends, your family, your loved ones and use games to socialize and build connections.”
The way forward for gaming at St. Mary’s
At the beginning of their sixth aggressive season, Rattler Esports has a formidable roster of 25 varsity student-athletes, composed of devoted groups that compete in opposition to different schools in 5 video games: Call of Duty, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League and Valorant.
Some of that crew development will be linked to the University’s annual esports summer time camps. These camps are co-ed and supply sixth by means of Twelfth-grade college students of all talent ranges the chance to study recreation fundamentals, crew expertise and multimedia coaching.
Not solely are these camps helpful for the scholars attending, however many former campers select to turn into official Rattlers and be a part of the Esports crew as undergraduate college students.
“Two of my Rocket League players and one of my Fortnite student–athletes were recruited from the summer camps,” Teniente stated. “It’s a full circle moment for me to have campers return as St. Mary’s students and help me run these summer camps. It shows that this program has had a very positive impact on those who attend.”
Junior Chelsy Tinacba, a Computer Science main, performs on the Rocket League crew and has fond reminiscences of her time attending an esports summer time camp at St. Mary’s.
“I was able to meet peers from across San Antonio and get first-hand experience on what it’s like to play esports at the collegiate level,” Tinacba stated.
The summer time camp’s construction was a promoting level for Tinacba to attend St. Mary’s as an undergraduate.
“Esports are taken very seriously here,” Tinacba stated. “The structure and expectations set by Coach Kaitlin were an eye-opener. I really loved my transition from summer camp attendee to St. Mary’s student because I learned in camp that this program does more than just play video games, and I learned that you will always have support to get where you want to be.”
For Teniente, this system’s future is vivid with potentialities. Her checklist of objectives for the subsequent 5 years consists of competing in opposition to bigger universities and increasing pupil employee alternatives that can give attention to rising their roster.
Teniente explains that as this system positive factors extra pupil employees, “they also bring very interesting and innovative ideas.”
“Some of the best ideas we’ve implemented have been from student workers who say, ‘Hey, coach, how can we do this? How can we do that?’” Teniente stated. “Let’s find out together.”
More from the Spring 2026 Issue
Alumnus, pupil share worth of actuarial research
Maroun Harb (B.B.A./B.S. ’23) and Roland “RJ” Rojas each get pleasure from understanding loads bout completely different topics. The Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics with a Concentration in Actuarial Science is permitting them to place their huge data to good use.
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.stmarytx.edu/2026/esports-gaming-culture/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us
