California colleges embrace esports | CalMatters

In summary

At least six Cal State campuses and nearly all of the University of California campuses have created esports programs since 2015, in which students host and compete in live tournaments, sometimes funded by corporate sponsors.

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Growing up as the youngest child of four, Fernando Gomez would often pass the time by watching his two older brothers play the video games Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy while sitting cross-legged on his brother’s bed.

Gaming “kind of brought us together,” Gomez said. It also inspired him to create San Francisco State University’s first student-run esports program as an undergrad — experience he parlayed into a post-grad job as the digital content coordinator for the Portland Trailblazers. “That experience is 100{13aab5633489a05526ae1065595c074aeca3e93df6390063fabaebff206207ec} why I’m here today, doing what I do now,” Gomez said.