t he n eed to s tay c ompetitive E- SPORTS Arena

By mr. timothy monahan

The St. Francis High School E-Sports program provides current and future generations the space on campus to experience the core elements of competitive gaming: sportsmanship, teamwork, and reward. Nearly all of our students have experienced video games in one form or another, and E-Sports allows them to contribute to a competitive field that is growing each and every day.

Our school recognized the need to stay competitive with other private schools in the region, but we also recognized that we are offering a legitimate program that provides college scholarships and pathways to careers; in the last 30 years, video games have evolved from a hobby to a multi-billion-dollar industry (both in development and playing). Video games on streaming devices garner millions of views – more than most NHL, MLB, and NBA games. Major tournaments for League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike, Fortnite, and Rocket League have aired on ESPN, and many of our students know the names of pro-gamers alongside those of Josh Allen and Lebron James. Our program is not meant to replace any current offerings at St. Francis; instead, we want to ensure that we provide our students with every experience that reflects the future.

Thanks to the efforts of Paul Bartell ’88 and the Alumni Association, we now have the premier high school facility in WNY. We have brand-new vinyl flooring, 2 air-conditioning units, an HD projector and retractable screen, 8 state-of-the-art gaming computers and chairs, a Playstation 5, and St. Francis red LED lights to bring it all together. The space is both modern and functional, and it illustrates everything a gaming room should be while still being part of St. Francis. In January, the E-Sports coach from St. Bonaventure University, Christian Greer, visited our players to promote his program and talk about collegiate E-Sports. St. Bonaventure is in the process of remodeling their facility, and Coach Greer commented that our arena is more impressive than their current space. Higher education institutions are building larger facilities and preparing for the wave of future gamers and St. Francis is leading the charge at the secondary level.

For 2022-2023, St. Francis played in a Fall Major for Valorant and both Fall and Spring Majors for Rocket League. There were 100s of teams in the Eastern Division and we played online against local teams like Salamanca and Lancaster, as well as teams from Virginia and New Jersey. We are excited to see the program expand in 2023-2024.