Texas Southern University is an illustrious HBCU known for their notable alumni, the fantastic “Ocean of Soul”, and the diversity of African American students. But now, Texas Southern University is being recognized for one more thing, video games! At Texas Southern University, the student-run organization “Tigers United Gaming” is putting Texas Southern University on the map in the Esports world. Started as just a basic club for TSU students interested in video games, this organization has evolved into a place on campus where students are given once in a lifetime opportunities just by playing video games!
Esports at Texas Southern University actually dates back to 2018. Back then, there was no club, no sponsorship money, and no acknowledgement from the school. It started off with a group of students who all shared the same interest in video games. These students would find any online tournament and join it, eventually having Texas Southern University being recognized as a big upcoming HBCU in the esports league. This would lead to General Motors getting in contact with the university’s recreation center, and providing $10,000 a year in order to create a facility for students interested in esports to thrive and continue their growth.
With the space now, all that was left was to purchase the technology and furniture for the lab. This is where the company “Cxmmunity” came to play. Cxmmunity, in their own words, are:
“A media tech company focused on amplifying the global gaming ecosystem. We provide targeted advertising and marketing opportunities within various gaming and entertainment environments, ensuring brands connect with diverse, vibrant, youthful audiences.”
Cxmmunity got in contact with Texas Southern University and donated the funds needed to purchase the computers, furniture, TVs, etc. needed in the lab. In total, the lab holds sixteen high performance PCs, 2 flat screen TVs, 2 Xbox consoles, a Nintendo Switch, and many gaming chairs along with desks and a couch for students to relax when not gaming.
Fast forward to 2023, Tigers United Gaming has their official grand opening of their brand new esports lab. TSU students were introduced into the world of esports and learned of the job opportunities that can be gained from it. Along with the grand opening, four esports students were provided with $20,000 scholarships provided by both Cxmmunity and Verizon. This grand opening also set the starting point for Tigers United Gaming’s most successful year in esports.
When also asked about his training process for such a huge gaming tournament like this, Ethan described how he prepared to represent TSU in this $500,000 tournament:
“For me personally, I got the most expensive version of the game, because I was like “I can’t take no days off” because if you got the expensive version you got to play extra days before. I used those days and I played almost every day and night just to make sure that my skills were up to par with at least those that would consider themselves mid-level players. Then after that when the game officially came out, and everyone else on the team got their copy, I made sure to take what I knew about the game and pass it down to those that just got it and help them out with any situations they found hard to get out of.”
The Mortal Kombat team in total took home over $100,000 from the tournament, with Ethan himself coming in 2nd place and winning over $10,000. This made Tigers United Gaming the highest earning HBCU Esports team in 2023.
Tigers United Gaming has made an impact on members in many other ways other than gaming. This organization has also led to internships for members at huge tech companies such as Blizzard, Sony, etc. The most recent example of this coming from Tigers United Gaming’s current recruitment chair Kayla Miller.
“Being apart of Tigers United Gaming gave me connections that ultimately led me to an internship with Logitech over the summer.”
With gaming having the stereotype of being seen as “useless” and a “waste of time”, Tigers United Gaming has shown that’s simply not the case. Whether it’s financial opportunities, career experience, or simply participating in social activities, Tigers United Gaming has successfully shown that video games can lead to so many opportunities that you would never think of.
This year marks one year since the lab’s official grand opening. To get a better understanding of how Tigers United Gaming has impacted Texas Southern University, I sat down with Jessica Allen, the assistant director of facilities and operations at TSU’s Recreation Center. When asked about about the impact Tigers United Gaming has had within this year by itself, Ms. Allen had the following to say:
“It’s brought a different demographic of students to the Campus Recreation Center, who may never come out of their rooms because they have their gaming systems inside their room, or for those students who couldn’t bring their gaming systems with them or their PCs, it just brought a new demographic of students for us to tap in and build more programs around them.”
Also when asked about the future of TSU’s Rec Center and how she saw Tigers United Gaming playing a factor in the building’s continued growth, Ms. Allen said the following:
“Tigers United Gaming will bring more students in for esports, which will open up more opportunities for them to tap into different programs for students. Also job opportunities for our students to where we can bring in graduate assistants, more attendants for the gaming lab, and then also introduce bringing tournaments to the Recreation Center, because we’re more so for competitive sports, but esports has now brought in a new style of tournaments for all of our students. I feel like Tigers United Gaming is really taking over the Campus Recreation Center period to be honest.”
Lastly, Tigers United Gaming has also inspired others to either start an esports club within their high school/college, or to join their campus esports team. For students looking to get into competitive gaming, or just looking for a social group of gamers with the same interests as you, Tigers United Gaming president Ethan Johnson has these tips for you:
“If there’s not one at your school yet, find other people that have the same interests as you at your school. The more that you got, the easier it is. For people looking to join programs that are already on campus, just go ahead and jump in! Don’t be afraid! As long as you play what you want to play and just be yourself, things will work out just fine. There may be bumps in the road because I know a lot of people that game have a lot of anxiety, but if you just put yourself out there and do what you love doing, it’s going to come real easy.”
You can follow the journey of Tigers United Gaming and the history they are making by following there socials below:
Instagram: @tsu_tigersunited
Twitter/X: @TigersUnitedtsu
Twitch: TSUTigersUnited
All photos above were shot by Houston photographer Kevin Biggens. You can find more of his work on his Instagram @frostylenss
