ASHLAND — Ashland University President Carlos Campo never expected the 23rd varsity sport at the 140-year-old school to be esports. Nor did he expect to have a 13-year-old secret weapon aid in the effort.
Lestat Wade, 13, met Campo as part of the Big Brothers Big Sister programs, now called the Mid-Ohio Youth Mentoring Project, and have since become what Campo considers family.
“Lestat and I see it pretty much in that fashion,” Campo said. “They formally say I’m his mentor and he’s my mentee, but we spend a a lot of time together here on campus at our homes.”
Lestat, like many young teens, is an avid video gamer. In October, he built 29 steps in 60 seconds on the video game, MineCraft, on an iPad, registering a Guinness World Record. His passion and knowledge about video games has helped guide Campo as the new esports program was created in fall 2018.
“It’s interesting, as I thought through how all of this evolved, there were really two things happening at the same time,” the university president said. “The esports craze has really has touched universities across the country. We were investigating that as well, but when you have a little brother who is immersed in that world — he gave me the insights that I otherwise wouldn’t have had.
“We became the first university to give a scholarship for Fortnite,” Campo said.
Fortnite is a survival, first-person shooter game.
“I had no idea what it was,” Campo continued. “So, suddenly I have this 13-year-old boy that I wouldn’t have otherwise (from which to learn).”
It was second nature to a gamer like Lestat.
“One of the things I’ve learned from him, is this is something that is more than just a game,” Campo said. “To him, it’s a mode of expression, a way for him to think critically, and that is very important to me as well. This is more than just a club sport, this is a varsity sport.”
The esport program is a part of the National Association of Collegiate Esports. The organization formed less than two years ago to help oversee and promote the growth of competitive video gaming on the collegiate level.
“It would be too much to say, he led to us adopting a new program on campus, but I would absolutely say he gave insight and me insight that we wouldn’t have ever had,” Campo said.
Campo added he and Lestat have never played a video game together. Campo joked he is too competitive to suffer a loss, even to a friend.
“We’re making a long-term investment here, so even something as simple as Lestat coming to our facility, sitting in the seats we’d ordered, speaking to the to the coach and giving insight on a prospective student (is helpful).”
Lestat said it was cool to be able to help with the AU esports team and he is excited about the team’s potential.
“He asked me what I was into and I told him about gaming and everything,” Lestat said. “The younger generation is heading that way. He kind of just kept at it.”
Lestat said he spends an estimated four to five hours a day gaming, in between completing homework and other responsibilities.
Often, his mother, Heidi Wade said, Lestat is the best gamer during competitions.
“I’ve always encouraged it,” said his mother, Heidi Wade, “hand eye coordination, problem solving, speed. It was something that he really liked.”
In October, Lestat and his mother went to Minefaire, a convention for the video game MineCraft — a sandbox (freestyle) game where players create a world around them, in Philadelphia.
At Minefaire, Lestat earned his world record. A photo and blurb about the record is published in the 2018 “Gamer’s Edition” of the Guinness Book of World Records.
“Basically, you have to click on the screen to build as many steps as you could,” the record-holder said. “Let’s say you missed a step and put it in the wrong place. Everything past that step doesn’t count. You had to do it as fast as could.”
Lestat said he expects the record to hold for a while.
“You have to be extremely fast,” he said. “You can’t just pick up the game to do it.”
When Ashland University officially created the new varsity team, it made national news.
“We received 7,000 applications,” Campo said laughing. “We did field a few calls from mothers who said, ‘You know I’m trying to get my child to stop playing video games and now you’re offering scholarships.’ “
The overwhelming quantity of applications they received for fall semester 2018 helped confirm there is an interest in this program and there is a future for esports.
“We see this has a long-term commitment and a way to recruit students who wouldn’t come to Ashland University otherwise, but because of the esports program we are getting international students and students from all over the country,” Campo said.
“Having someone like Lestat is like having a spokesperson for the esports program, someone who knows the coaches and the team and has so much knowledge of the games.”
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