Texas Wesleyan University Announces New Esports Minor in Mass Communication Department

Fort Worth, Texas

Texas Wesleyan University is excited to announce the launch of a new academic program for Fall 2024, the Esports minor.

This minor is designed to engage students with hands-on learning opportunities in the massive world of esports.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is home to one of the largest concentrations of professional esports activity in the nation, and this minor is tapping into that by bringing new and relevant experiences to the classroom based on insight from industry professionals.

The 18-hour minor includes three new courses focused on the esports industry combined with three existing courses. The new courses are Survey of Esports & Gaming, Events in Esports, and Content Creation in Esports & Gaming. Classes are designed to be applicable to students interested in a career in the esports industry as well as those passionate about esports, gaming, and pop culture. The new minor will equip students with practice experience in areas related to the esports industry such as project management, working with external clients, and all stages of the content creation process.

The esports courses will be taught by Eugene Frier, who also serves as the director of esports & gaming at Texas Wesleyan. Professor Frier created the Esports & Gaming department at Texas Wesleyan in 2017 and has led it to great success on both a local and national level, winning a national championship. Frier has also served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). Frier was the chair for the Board of Directors from 2019-2021 and special advisor 2021-2022 before being re-elected to the Board in 2022 and elected as chair elect in 2023.

Texas Wesleyan has also put together an advisory board of industry professionals to help shape the curriculum for the esports minor that include Simon Bennett (Founder/CEO of AoE Creative), Arman Jivani (Senior Games Recruiter for Tencent Americas), Markel Lee (founder/CCO of AoE Creative), Danny Martin (co-founder/CEO of Esposure Inc.), and Justin Rojas (co-founder/co-owner: Nishi Fest; Play!TCG; and  Studio Nano). In addition to their current experience, advisory board members also have previous experience working in the esports & gaming industry at Team Envy, OpTic Gaming, Gearbox Software, Funimation, FACEIT, and Blizzard Entertainment.

“We are so very excited to be able to offer the esports minor beginning in Fall 2024,” said Dr. Kay L. Colley, department chair for Mass Communication. “The addition of the esports minor in the Mass Communication Department reflects our commitment to providing minors and majors that take advantage of our location, which is one of the most vibrant communication and esports areas in the nation, and our connections to industry professionals. Students here truly have an advantage because our faculty and students work with industry professionals in class, giving students a springboard for success when they graduate.”

More information about how to declare an esports minor will be available soon.