Frequently Asked Questions

 

What are Blue & White Sports?
 Assumption’s Blue & White Sports initiative was created in 2018 to oversee the school's athletics programs that are not participating in the NCAA and aren’t part of The College’s current club sports model. These new programs will compete at the highest national club level for their respective sport. 

What Blue & White Sports will be offered?
 The first Blue & White Sports offered will begin competition in the fall of 2019. They will be women’s ice hockey, men’s swimming and esports. All other club sports can be found on Assumption’s recreation page, HERE. 

Who will coach these new teams?
 A coach for each sport has been hired and you can find their information on the staff page. These coaches will fall under athletic department and may have responsibilities in addition to coaching, to provide them with the best opportunity to be successful.

Will athletic scholarships be available for Blue & White Sports?
Men’s Swimming & esports will award partial athletic scholarships, those scholarships are awarded at the discretion of the head coach.  Per American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) rules, Women’s Ice Hockey is unable to provide athletic scholarships.

Who supervises these teams?
 Blue & White Sports will be under the umbrella of the Assumption Athletic Department. This will assure they are compliant with all necessary fees and roster restrictions while also allowing the scheduling of complete season schedules against other regional and national opponents. 

How Can I Sign Up
 Currently those who are interested in pursuing Blue & White Sports may fill out a recruiting questionnaire HERE or contact the Blue & White coach for each sport. Email information for each coach can be found on the staff directory.

See Below For a full FAQ on esports

  1. What are esports?

    1. Esports are organized, multiplayer computer-based competitions that take place between players either on a casual or a professional basis. Anything from a simple online tournament, to the massive League of Legends World Finals, which was watched by 60 million people online, could be considered an esport.

    2.  Esports can encompass any number of video games, which can both be played on one system (like an Xbox) with numerous people or online within a community of like-minded participants.

    3. Esports is not a group of “nerds” playing video games in their dorm room all the time and never leaving except to eat and go to class. It is a rapidly growing multi-billion dollar industry which is primarily made up of 13-34 year olds, both as participants and fans.

  2. What is the attraction between colleges and esports?

    1. Esports are a great way to engage students. Of all the activities a school could offer, gaming and esports is one of the most inclusive. It is co-ed, around 70% of college students play videos in some capacity, so watching esports or playing it provides a way to get gamers out of their dorm rooms and engaging with their communities. Esports at Assumption will be highly structured around this community aspect that we hope will provide a great social avenue for gamers of all backgrounds.

  3. How are colleges poised to serve as a great alternative to professional gaming?

    1. Many players age out of their professional careers in their mid to late 20s making college an alternative to, rather than a conduit to, professional gaming.

    2. In 2017 Q2 TNL Media reported that, “We estimate 655 students from 40 universities will receive a collective $4.1M+ in scholarship tuition packages for representing their institution as a varsity player in competitive League of Legends, Overwatch, CounterStrike: Global Offensive, and other video game tournaments next year.”

    3. This opportunity provides competitive gamers with the opportunity to compete at a high level within a structured community, while also earning a college education.

  4. Do video games make the players violent?

    1. Modern research has largely supplanted the studies of the early 2000’s that this is the case. Even the Supreme Court itself ruled in 2011 that many of these early studies were not scientifically compelling and studies released within the past 2-3 years consistently point to the fact that video games do not cause violent response behaviors.

    2. Video games do trigger a short-term aggression response like other competition-based activities, such as sporting events like football, basketball or soccer. However, these effects dissipate in minutes, and there is no link to violent behavior.

  5. What are the most popular esports games?

    1. The most popular by prize money in 2017 were: Dota 2; Counter Strike: GO; League of Legends; Heroes of the Storm

    2. Most viewed games on Twitch: Fortnite; League of Legends; Dota 2; IRL Hearthstone

  6. What is Twitch?

    1. Twitch is a viewing platform for gamers and others to watch professionals and others play the various esports games in real time, similar to watching a sporting event on ESPN or watching a pay per view boxing match.

    2. Top gamers have thousands of subscribers who pay to watch their stream? on Twitch. Many college programs also use Twitch and have subscribers, but not to the extent of professionals.