West Virginia University named Chris Scroggins as the esports curriculum developer on Wednesday, which school officials say is a major development for the program.
Scroggins will be charged with forming the curriculum for the esports management minor, which is available starting this semester. The program will also be developed into a major in the future.
“No matter where they might go with it, our students are going to be able to learn pertinent skills through the program that we build and learn through their passion, which is very important,” Scroggins said.
Students enrolled in the minor will be offered courses in esports governance, esports marketing and esports business.
The program will also allow students to work behind the scenes with the university’s young esports program.
The esports team started competition in early 2022 and have already had success with teams in “Rocket League,” “Madden,” “Valorant” and “Call of Duty.”
The Rocket League team was the National runner-up in the 2022 CCA Summer Series and won the Mid-Atlantic regional title at the Red Bull Campus Clutch in October of last year. Sophomore Noah Johnson has also drawn national attention as one of the top Madden players in the country.
“Pairing the academic side with the competitive team will put WVU in a position that no one else is really in right now. That’s a huge selling point,” Scroggins said. “As our students are coming through the program and learning things like event management, casting, and everything else our program will have in it, they’ll get to work with these top esports athletes. That can really combine to create an environment here that is special.”
Scroggins will be teaming up with Josh Steger, the director and varsity coach of the esports team, to join the two programs.
“What we’ve been able to do already on the competitive side, with Josh leading the way, really is pretty unprecedented for such a young program,” Scroggins said. ”We absolutely will be leveraging that and showing people that we’re trying to build something similar on the academic side.”
Scroggins was previously employed at Shenandoah as the esports director since 2019. He will also serve WVU as a service professor in the College of Applied Human Sciences.
He was also the co-founder of EDGE Consulting, a company that helps organizations become involved and grow within the realm of esports.
“It’s exciting that we’re offering esports at an institution of this caliber,” Scroggins said. “This is the flagship school of this state, and it’s spectacular that we’re willing to invest in it and really be a trailblazer at this level.”
