{"id":20259,"date":"2021-04-01T15:35:58","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T20:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/?p=20259"},"modified":"2026-07-23T13:47:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T18:47:22","slug":"varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Varsity esports program moves from novelty to success"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘Bright future’ ahead for North Dakota Varsity Esports (NDVE) as it exceeds early expectations<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
A year after announcing its varsity esports program, UND supports multiple teams across multiple video game titles through North Dakota Varsity Esports. As many as 80 students have gotten involved either as players or as coaches and managers for competitive gaming squads. Photo by Mike Hess\/UND Today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When sophomore Blake Nahin transferred to UND last year, it was because he saw the title of \u201ccommercial pilot\u201d in his future. But \u201cesports team manager\u201d? That wasn\u2019t something he had pictured for his college career.<\/p>\n

Now, though, the commercial aviation major<\/strong><\/a> is working with multiple varsity squads to set them up for success \u2013 helping teams practice, signing up for competitions and helping shape the future of North Dakota Varsity Esports.<\/p>\n

The University of North Dakota\u2019s esports efforts are a year underway\u00a0as of March<\/a><\/strong>, and students such as Nahin are getting in at the ground floor of a growing extracurricular enterprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is still so new that even my role as a team manager isn\u2019t set out in stone,\u201d said Nahin, who works (and plays) with the teams for the vehicular soccer game Rocket League<\/em> and the tactical first-person shooter Valorant<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut ultimately, being a manager is a way of being involved with the teams, even though my skill level isn\u2019t as high in those games. \u2026 It\u2019s been a really fun way to meet new people and make friends at UND.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Matthew King, UND\u2019s esports coordinator, as many as 80 students are either attached to varsity rosters or taking support positions similar to Nahin\u2019s. And that uncertainty mentioned by Nahin is something King anticipated in getting North Dakota Varsity Esports (NDVE)<\/a><\/strong> off the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I\u2019m working with teams, captains and managers, I\u2019ve been very careful to make sure that we\u2019re in a position to take feedback and easily adjust,\u201d King said. \u201cMeanwhile, students have been knocking it out of the park in how they\u2019ve taken on their roles, as freeform as things may seem right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Varsity-level competition from home<\/h2>\n

King\u2019s comments to UND Today<\/em> spoke to the fact that the first year has represented NDVE finding its footing on a campus altogether disrupted by the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

Despite an inability to attract and recruit students through in-person events and activities, the number of students getting involved has surpassed King\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe excitement from students has been great to see,\u201d he remarked. \u201cI\u2019ve put out general guidelines for practice, and I\u2019m holding weekly meetings with everyone. But it\u2019s interesting to see how students taken those things upon themselves. They\u2019re hungry and ready to learn in order to compete and represent UND in a positive light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as the pandemic has disrupted campuses around the country, it has affected the world of esports. Tournaments and match-ups that might have previously been hosted in an event space are now taking place solely online.<\/p>\n

But Matthew Syrstad and his Rocket League<\/em> squad are in their element playing from home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen UND first offered intramural gaming about a year ago, my roommates and I signed up for Rocket League<\/em> because we were playing it a lot,\u201d said Syrstad, a UND mechanical engineering senior<\/a><\/strong> from the Twin Cities area. \u201cOnly a few days later, we got a message saying that UND was launching a varsity program, so we started talking with Matthew King.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since those conversations, Syrstad has become captain of the Rocket League <\/em>team, which is comprised of two three-person rosters and two substitute players. Both of the rosters have entered competitions throughout the school year, participating in a few different college leagues.<\/p>\n

\"\"
NDVE’s Rocket League\u00a0<\/em>teams have found many routes by which to compete against other schools, as the “soccer” game has a well-established competitive scene including multiple collegiate leagues.\u00a0YouTube screenshot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leading up to the end of the academic year, the Rocket League <\/em>team is the most prolific on NDVE. They\u2019re playing matches every week against schools across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first started, we were entering competitions here and there, whatever we could find,\u201d Syrstad said. \u201cNow, we have an established program and some solid rosters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe collegiate scene is definitely different from playing with your friends; there\u2019s a big variation in skill level. Some of the top teams can compete with near-professionals. Adjusting to that has been a good time for us, and we\u2019ve seen a lot of growth and development as we\u2019ve gone through the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Syrstad and his home-grown squad will test their mettle in the West Conference of the Electronic Gaming Federation (EGF) playoffs. Various collegiate leagues handle post-seasons differently, but EGF \u2013 notably a Division 1 organizer \u2013 takes on a traditional sports playoff structure, Syrstad said.<\/p>\n

People can follow the team through the NDVE Twitter account<\/a><\/strong> or check the UND Calendar<\/a><\/strong> to see when and how they can see upcoming matches, he added.<\/p>\n

NDVE also now has a dedicated page on the UND website<\/a><\/strong>, which has information on the variety of ways students can become involved regardless of experience or skill level.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Over the course of the past year, King has been able to establish a practice facility for NDVE that has been used by the five-person Valorant\u00a0<\/em>team extensively. With the ability to physically distance, the team has been able to build skill and chemistry on campus as they practice. Photo by Mike Hess\/UND Today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pieces of the puzzle<\/h2>\n

Syrstad\u2019s mention of fielding solid rosters is exactly what King is hoping to support in the coming months through recruiting and overall boosting the awareness of NDVE on campus.<\/p>\n

Though Rocket League<\/em>, Valorant<\/em> and League of Legends<\/em> are some of the most active teams right now, King listed multiple titles that have players and rosters that are holding practices, including Team Fight Tactics, Call of Duty, Overwatch, <\/em>and Rainbow Six Siege<\/em>. One piece of the puzzle is finding formal collegiate leagues to host them. In some cases, King has developed occasions to host other teams\/colleges for competitions in lieu of lacking tournament opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll look for competitions, but I give students the freedom to find competitive opportunities for their rosters,\u201d King said. \u201cWe have some varsity rosters that aren\u2019t fully formed, such as for Overwatch <\/em>and Rainbow Six<\/em>, but they can use resources I\u2019ve put forward and talk with me as we work to fill them out.\u201d<\/p>\n

NDVE has been able to bring in UND alumni to volunteer as coaches and organizers to work within the organization\u2019s umbrella of games. King also shared that soon a part-time esports coach will be brought on to work closely with students as King focuses on NDVE\u2019s overall development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat person is going to be able to be focused on a couple of key rosters and really help out on recruiting for the varsity program,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
League of Legends<\/em> has an established roster on NDVE, as shown above in a matchup with Park University, but the popular game is also the subject of a one-credit activity course offered at UND.\u00a0King is working on bringing esports to the academic world, just as he’s establishing more varsity teams to represent the University.\u00a0YouTube screenshot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Skills in-game and in the classroom<\/h2>\n

Part of the esports coordinator\u2019s ongoing work is introducing esports to UND in an academic context. King is looking at computer science, psychology, business and kinesiology as some areas for esports-related course content going into the future. Kinesiology has been leading the way in implementing an esports coaching minor, outside of the one-credit esports activity courses that King runs.<\/p>\n

The activity courses have been popular, as \u201cbeginner\u201d courses for Fortnite<\/em> and League of Legends<\/em> have close to 100 students enrolled, combined.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been great to see, too,\u201d said King of the participation. \u201cWe had to keep bumping up the allotted number for the course as people signed up. With Fortnite<\/em>, a lot of people know what that is, so it wasn\u2019t surprising to see the amount of interest there. League<\/em> is a little more complex, so most students in the course are really new to it or haven\u2019t played before.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Jordan Johnson, a junior majoring in information systems<\/a><\/strong>, isn\u2019t looking for an introduction to the game – seeing as he\u2019s captain of UND\u2019s League of Legends <\/em>varsity squad. Instead, the Hazen, N.D., native is looking into esports coaching as a bonus to his academic career.<\/p>\n

In taking on the leadership role \u2013 both in-game and organizationally \u2013 Johnson said that he\u2019s been able to learn many things over the past year as captain, including how he can improve in such a position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized I\u2019m not very good at the leadership side of things, in terms of being vocal and planning things out for us as a team,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cSo taking on the minor will help my perspective on management, among other aspects of looking at things as a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the League of Legends<\/em> team didn\u2019t make it into its respective playoffs this year, Johnson sees a bright future for not just his team, but all groups connected through NDVE.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is all new and we\u2019ve been having a lot of fun with it,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful for the future because I know it\u2019s only going to get better from here on out. I know we\u2019re all looking forward to getting together and doing stuff in-person, even outside of gaming.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Bright future” ahead for UND’s varsity esports program as it exceeds early expectations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":20260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1119],"class_list":["post-20259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-und","tag-esports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVarsity esports program moves from novelty to success - UND Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Varsity esports program moves from novelty to success - UND Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""Bright future" ahead for UND's varsity esports program as it exceeds early expectations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UND Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-01T20:35:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-23T18:47:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/210212-esports-2998-web.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"475\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connor Murphy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connor Murphy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Murphy\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/de7cedd454b11693326400d99b86e11b\"},\"headline\":\"Varsity esports program moves from novelty to success\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-01T20:35:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-23T18:47:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1636,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/210212-esports-2998-web.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Esports\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Around UND\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/\",\"name\":\"Varsity esports program moves from novelty to success - UND Today\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/210212-esports-2998-web.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-01T20:35:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-23T18:47:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/de7cedd454b11693326400d99b86e11b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/210212-esports-2998-web.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/210212-esports-2998-web.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":475,\"caption\":\"Photo by Mike Hess\\\/UND Today.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Varsity esports program moves from novelty to success\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/\",\"name\":\"UND Today\",\"description\":\"University of North Dakota\u2019s Official News Source\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/de7cedd454b11693326400d99b86e11b\",\"name\":\"Connor Murphy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/24a93f148f2317598ba1b602047bd43fa15696017652e5547ec64481ce7854d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/24a93f148f2317598ba1b602047bd43fa15696017652e5547ec64481ce7854d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/24a93f148f2317598ba1b602047bd43fa15696017652e5547ec64481ce7854d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Connor Murphy\"},\"description\":\"is a 2015 graduate of the University of North Dakota, where he earned a degree in Communication. He joined UND Today in 2017 as a writer and now serves as internal communications editor in the Division of Marketing & Communications.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.und.edu\\\/und-today\\\/author\\\/cmurphy1\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Varsity esports program moves from novelty to success - UND Today","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Varsity esports program moves from novelty to success - UND Today","og_description":"\"Bright future\" ahead for UND's varsity esports program as it exceeds early expectations","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/","og_site_name":"UND Today","article_published_time":"2021-04-01T20:35:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-23T18:47:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":475,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/210212-esports-2998-web.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Connor Murphy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Connor Murphy","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/"},"author":{"name":"Connor Murphy","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/#\/schema\/person\/de7cedd454b11693326400d99b86e11b"},"headline":"Varsity esports program moves from novelty to success","datePublished":"2021-04-01T20:35:58+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-23T18:47:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/"},"wordCount":1636,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/210212-esports-2998-web.jpg","keywords":["Esports"],"articleSection":["Around UND"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/","name":"Varsity esports program moves from novelty to success - UND Today","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/210212-esports-2998-web.jpg","datePublished":"2021-04-01T20:35:58+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-23T18:47:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/#\/schema\/person\/de7cedd454b11693326400d99b86e11b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/210212-esports-2998-web.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/210212-esports-2998-web.jpg","width":800,"height":475,"caption":"Photo by Mike Hess\/UND Today."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2021\/04\/varsity-esports-program-moves-from-novelty-to-success\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Varsity esports program moves from novelty to success"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/","name":"UND Today","description":"University of North Dakota\u2019s Official News Source","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/#\/schema\/person\/de7cedd454b11693326400d99b86e11b","name":"Connor Murphy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/24a93f148f2317598ba1b602047bd43fa15696017652e5547ec64481ce7854d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/24a93f148f2317598ba1b602047bd43fa15696017652e5547ec64481ce7854d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/24a93f148f2317598ba1b602047bd43fa15696017652e5547ec64481ce7854d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Connor Murphy"},"description":"is a 2015 graduate of the University of North Dakota, where he earned a degree in Communication. He joined UND Today in 2017 as a writer and now serves as internal communications editor in the Division of Marketing & Communications.","url":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/author\/cmurphy1\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20259"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48043,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20259\/revisions\/48043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}