Esports at Northwestern State University means a variety of things to many people. The esports lounge at NSU provides students with gaming equipment, tournaments, events and a study location.
The esports lounge has numerous pieces of equipment for students to use, all for free after a student presents their student ID. Students can play on computers, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and other gaming consoles provided by the lounge.
Courtney Chancellor, coordinator of competitive sports, encourages students to bring their own equipment, but the lounge also provides headsets and other gear in case students don’t have them. “We have mouses, keyboards and headsets if they like, but they’re welcome to bring all their own stuff,” Chancellor said. “They’re welcome to bring their own consoles and just use our televisions and our Wi-Fi.”
NSU’s esports center also provides an avenue for students to get involved in competitive gaming. “Right now we’re in the process of trying to rebuild, but last semester we had Rocket League, Overwatch, Valorant, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six Siege. Any game can be a competitive team, they just have to have enough people to fill a roster,” Chancellor said.
To join or create an esports team, students are encouraged to reach out to Chancellor at the esports lounge. Teams compete locally and stream the games via Twitch or other platforms, which allows them to compete with any team across the world.
The esports lounge is also looking to improve its equipment and expand its collection of games. Last spring, the lounge acquired new headsets that students can borrow while gaming in the lounge. This spring, the esports lounge is looking into getting more games such as Just Dance and the new Call of Duty.
Kay Creel is a senior hospitality management and tourism major who works at the esports lounge. Creel believes that students can truly do anything at the esports lounge. “You don’t have to like games or know about games to come in here and try out something. If you want to buy a Switch but you’ve never used a Switch, you could come here and try it,” Creel said.
What sets NSU’s esports lounge apart from others, for Creel, is its size and versatility. “We get a lot of recruiting tours that come on here. People love to take pictures with our murals,” Creel said.
“People really like how the space looks, which I think is pretty good,” Creel continued. “It’s a credit to NSU to have a space this nice, especially because in Natchitoches, you wouldn’t think that it’s going to have a gaming hub.”
Tuw Tuw Clay, junior psychology major and student-worker at the esports lounge, enjoys the ambiance of the lounge. “It’s one of the more chill places on campus where I know I can socialize if that’s what I plan to do that day, but also if I just want to chill by myself, I can read, draw or do anything like that,” Clay said. “I can just be in here and enjoy myself.”
The esports lounge is a free space for all NSU students where they can relax and enjoy a calming environment. “There are different areas to sit in if one spot is too crowded, we’re very accommodating as well. If it’s ever too loud, we can lower the sound or even the brightness of the area,” Clay said. “So come in, look around, maybe find something you’d like, try that and see if it just kind of snowballs from there.”
