The Esports & Co-Curricular department is OU’s formal entry to institutionally supported esports development. It falls underneath Student Affairs and is in collaboration with Information Technology. It’s goals are to continue the path of the grassroots startup known as the OU Esports Club. This approach has kept students involved in the active development since it’s birth in 2017. It will take it’s preexisting energies and will elevate those roles from student lead passion to funded employee based workforce.

With the elevated state we will take the core functions in community engagement, competitive development, journalistic practicum and supercharge them further while also folding in academic research, curriculum, in strategic alignment of The University of Oklahoma’s overall mission. The first employee of this new department is Director Mike “Moog” Aguilar, who is the architect behind the initial spin-up of research and formalization with his initial proposal for development back in 2016. He has and continues to serve as the Lead Advisor for the OU Esports Club as he aligns the roadmap to full elevation alongside student leadership being mentored for future employment at OU and within the industry globally.

Founded in 2017 as the Esports Association at The University, this heavily objective-oriented registered student organization was built to personify esports organizations in the pro-sector. Through intentional research in OU handbooks, policy guidelines, and coursework syllabi, the organization was built from the ground up to function as a department at OU on day 1. Because of that the further elevation of this orgs leadership, departments, mission, and focus will be almost untouched in the next chapter. It received it’s first elevation in November 2018, rebranding to the OU Esports Club, a competitive classified student org, under OU IT.

Student voices are the biggest asset to the success of this development and the September 1, 2020 university elevation. By empowering students, the org has created so many amazing stories and equity within it’s own community that it has become the largest student organization at OU pushing past 1.5K members at the time of elevation. The organization itself has 6 pillars or departments focused on creating pipelines for a large percentage of students as a feeder into the industry and extension of the university mission.

This organization creates programming for student and general public engagement, media & news for consumption, teams to compete on behalf of OU, and has a heavy focus on philanthropic energy raising funds and awareness for youth in Oklahoma while also offering summer camps for prospective athletes globally.

At the top of the organization during elevation is Jasmine Graves, one of the last original co-founders. Jasmine initially served as the director over what is now streaming entertainment and her organizational knowledge has earned her the presidential role over the entire org. Alongside her 10 member team, the OU Esports Club can execute quickly on multiple fronts with high standards. Make sure to click the leadership icon under her profile to see all the leadership faces and their stories.