More than games: Inside the minds of the UTC esports program

From textbooks and pencils to keyboards and controllers, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga esports program brings students from across campus to play video games.

What was once a club for gamers has turned into a program for students to play competitively for scholarships or a place to go with friends after class to game.

“We’ve had so many different kinds of people come in and play, and one thing that a lot of people do when they’re stressed is play video games,” said Chase Daffron, esports coordinator for the UTC esports program and a business analyst in the University’s Information Technology department.

Daffron, currently pursuing an MBA, received his bachelor’s degree in management from UTC in December 2024.

“That’s what the Esports Complex is here for,” he continued. “Students can come in between classes, let off stress, play games that they may not have the opportunity to play in their resident hall or at home, and build friendships and community here as well.”

Daffron, who hails from McKenzie, Tennessee, has competed on the UTC Call of Duty team. He manages the other competitive teams within the program including Valorant, Rocket League, League of Legends, Super Smash Bros and Overwatch.

Community, he said, goes further than just the competitive teams. Casual gamers are also involved with the program, helping build a tight-knit group.

“We want to keep reaching out to incoming freshmen and transfer students,” Daffron said. “We’re building that community now and we’ve been able to establish that and grow that throughout the semester. Even on our socials and our Twitch, a lot of our esports teams come in here and hang out and talk to each other.”

This expansion of the program into Maclellan Gym last year has been beneficial to the other strides made within the program.

“The initial step we took was establishing a dedicated facility in Maclellan Gym, which has become a popular spot for students utilizing it daily for general computer access,” explained Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Security and Technology Officer Tony Parsley, a key figure in the program’s expansion.

The goal Parsley had in mind was to increase student spaces. Video games are often looked at as a leisure activity, but they are so much more than that.

“The goal was to really build awareness around esports,” Parsley explained. “As you can imagine, in some schools, esports is a foreign concept for many administrators. As you look at esports today, you have to think about all the work that went into communicating the value that esports brings to the campus. It is a great way to bring students who are not your traditional students and give them an avenue to say, ‘Hey, when I’m there, I can also play. I’ll get my degree and I’ll work hard.’ It is just like any other sport.”

On the competitive side of the program, Call of Duty team members have been sharpening their craft to make sure they stay coordinated both physically and mentally.

“We all go through it as a team,” said Austin Mendoza, a sophomore business management major from Ocean Springs, Mississippi. “We all try to prepare and really get ready for when we’re practicing, when we’re talking to each other, we build up a chemistry to where whatever we say, we can get through something and always be better in the future for it.”

Daffron said there is another community growing from the UTC esports program—Twitch—a streaming service that allows friends, family and students all over the world to tune in live to any of the matches the esports team plays. This program has enabled students to contribute to the esports program, even if they are not interested in competing competitively.

Nate Baynes, a senior majoring in sport, outdoor recreation and tourism management from Spring Hill, Tennessee, works behind the scenes overseeing the streaming service operations.

During his freshman year at UTC, one of Baynes’ best friends Brady McGrath, joined the Rocket League team.

“He had always known that I had been into broadcasting and just doing stuff, being in front of a camera, being an on-camera talent, because I did that in high school for our news program,” Baynes recalled. “So he texted me and asked if I wanted to broadcast some of his Rocket League games so that his parents and his friends could watch. I agreed and I went along with it and I continued doing that just by myself for the Rocket League team for two and a half years.”

Last year, Baynes worked with Daffron and others to elevate the broadcasting side of UTC Rocket League and esports as a whole. The skills he has developed working in production and broadcasting on a team level are also a potential route for employment after college, he said.

“There’s been a lot of underlying skills that I can take with me, to where if I do go work a regular nine-to-five, it can enhance my experience and the value I bring to any sort of team,” Baynes said.

Outside of the competitiveness of gaming and the professionalism that students are learning, communities on a college campus are designed to create memories and have fun.

“My favorite memory takes me back to grand finals on the Rocket League A team,” said Timothy Butler, a senior psychology major from Germantown, Tennessee. “Our team was tied neck and neck with the other. We needed this win to stay inside the best-of-7 bracket. The score was tied, and I had the ball in our half of the pitch.”

Butler was explaining an intense situation with his team and came up clutch when everything was on the line.

“I single-handedly took the ball in the air across the field, outpacing all three of the students at the opposing school,” he continued. “Realizing that this goal kept us in the playoffs but also in fashion, me, my team and everyone in the vicinity watching the finals leaped up and cheered my name, all while jumping around and hugging me for the play I made.

“I always think back warmly on the moment because of the excitement, support and fun I had in a rather competitive environment.”