The following story was published by the Illinois Times on Aug. 31, 2023.
"A state-of-the-art intercollegiate sports facility opens Sept. 6 at University of Illinois Springfield, but don't expect to see any of the competitors run, jump or throw.
They'll spend their time sitting, staring and clicking.
Videogaming, or esports, has become the latest team activity on the college campus.
"Esports is a rapidly growing sport that is extremely popular for collegiate and high school-aged students," said James Koeppe, director of UIS Campus Recreation. "Because of this, universities are investing resources to allow students to play on campus with top-of-the-line equipment. The esports arena will also help grow the skills of students interested in computer science and visual art degrees. Not only will students be playing games, they also will be broadcasting and producing events in the arena."
With the addition of the UIS gaming arena, every state university in Illinois, except University of Illinois Chicago, will have its own esports team, Koeppe said."