In the winding hallways of Hubbard Hall’s basement, deep within a Michigan State residence hall that also has classrooms, lies a brand new facility to house its growing esports program.
It’s part of the expansion of opportunities for MSU esports. The Hubbard facility is different than the first location in ComArtSci, the Alienware MSU Esports Lounge. The original space feels like entering another dimension with LED lights plastered everywhere.
This new hub is more of a welcoming environment because of the communal setup for gamers to play together and interact.
“This [Alienware] space is really cool, flashy and designed like a spaceship,” Jonathon Eaton, Esports Content and Production Coordinator, said. “The Hubbard space is kind of more subdued. It’s a great spot for the varsity players to be able to compete and focus.”
The Michigan State esports program began to offer scholarships for the first time in 2023. Now, it has a living learning community at Hubbard Hall to go along with the brand new Hubbard Esports Competition Hub.
The new esports hub is open to Michigan State students until 6 p.m., when it is reserved for the three varsity teams – Rocket League, Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Valorant.
The layout of the Hubbard location allows for more face-to-face communication among gamers.
“The Hubbard space was designed for that collaboration,” Eaton said. “Whether it’s tables on one side, there’s bigger TVs on a side, there’s a glassed-in booth for the players to have soundproof insulation when they’re playing official varsity matches. It’s an all-in-one [space]. Players can spend a lot of time there and feel comfortable while still being able to compete at the highest level.”
Along with the opening of the facility in Hubbard, the living learning community (LLC) also represents growth for the Michigan State esports program. It got permission to have an LLC late in the housing cycle. As a result, just over 30 students are a part of the LLC this academic year.
Eaton and the program are hoping to get over 100 students in the LLC next school year.
“All the students who’ve signed up for it have absolutely enjoyed it,” he explained. “We’re working on planning different things for them to do, different workshops for them as well. But, even just living close, being roommates with someone you know who also enjoys esports… it’s nice to be all contained in one area.”
The LLC is open to any Michigan State student with an interest in gaming, including upperclassmen.
Freshman Henry Martin, who is from Louisville, Kentucky, is on the Super Smash Bros Ultimate B-team and is in the LLC.
“Living in Hubbard’s been nice,” Martin said. “It’s been nice having suitemates who I at least knew a little before [college]. Honestly, the only reason that I did it was because of the convenience of being able to access this. So, at least, getting to that would be easy.”
For Martin, having two suitemates that also play Super Smash Bros Ultimate has made it easier for him to transition to college.
“It was nice having some people who I knew at least a little who I could at least have common ground with as suitemates,” he said.
Martin has felt a sense of community and friendly environment in the Hubbard space.
“There’s definitely that and definitely people using it, which is good,” Martin said. “It’s one of the selling points of Hubbard. It has this and people are using it and it’s helped build that sense of community.”
The open layout and design of the facility is helping that sense of community thrive and eventually maybe grow.
“This one’s a little bit more of a convenient layout for talking, a little bit more of a convenient layout for practicing, just a little bit more of a friendly environment,” Martin said. “But, it also helps to have another space like this around campus, get people more interested for community involvement and opening it up so that people can use it whenever they want.”
Eaton hopes the new Hubbard facility will result in people interacting and building friendships. That’s something he’s seen take place in the Alienware lounge since that space opened earlier this year.
“We’ve already seen a lot of people building friendships,” Eaton said. “That’s one of my favorite things about these in-person facilities.”