Eagle Esports Program

Esports is coming to Bishop Shanahan! Help us to Get in the Game!

Many high schools and universities have powered-up Esports and have seen the benefits. Check out the current list of National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). Now it's time for Bishop Shanahan to Get in the Game!

Hundreds of Shanahan Eagles are already gamers, so let's meet them where they are! We are excited to launch as soon as possible so that BSHS students can participate in this new dynamic club that provides structure, guidance, and offers an innovative team environment.

Click here to donate today

What is eSports?

As defined by North America Scholastic eSports Federation (NASEF), eSports, also known as electronic sports, is a form of competition that is facilitated through computer gaming. Most commonly, eSports takes the form of organized, multiplayer online video game competitions. These competitions often incorporate live broadcasts with commentary and award prize money to competitors. eSports is also one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

Why eSports in High School?

The single most important question that we considered when determining if this would be the right program for BSHS: Can this program be beneficial to our students?

Here are the benefits of the Eagle eSports Program for Bishop Shanahan students:

More opportunities to get involved in structured co-curricular activities: According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, 84% of teenagers play video games regularly. We want to meet our students where they are and provide the appropriate structure and guidance for them to actively participate in organized teams.
Social interaction: eSports connects students of all different backgrounds unlike any other sport, club, or organization. We see eSports as an outlet for social connection, potentially bringing diverse groups of students with common interests together who otherwise would never have interacted with each other.
eSports games challenge students to use 21st century skills. The strategic thinking, problem solving, leadership, and teamwork skills endemic in multiplayer video games will transfer to real life situations. eSports games continually require students to work collaboratively to assess situations and quickly make strategic decisions to solve problems that will result in intended outcomes.
Gateway into STEM: We will closely align our eSports Program to our STEM initiatives, allowing for exploration of jobs, careers, and other related opportunities through our STEM curriculum.
The number of collegiate eSports programs is rapidly growing. As of 2022, the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE) included over 175 member colleges and universities. Each has an eSports program already on their campus. For the most current list, visit the NACE Member Directory. Most of these universities also offer eSports scholarships.

Where and when will my child be able to participate in the BSHS eSports program?

We will open the Eagle eSports Center on our campus in March of 2023. The center has 10 gaming PC stations that include the following:

Processor – 12th Generation Intel Core i7-12700
Memory – 128 GB
Storage – 1TB M.2 2280
Graphics – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
Display – 27” Acer Nitro VG271U – HDR Monitors
Custom Dreamseat Xpression Gaming Series Chairs

The Eagle eSports Center will also have gaming consoles (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch), each with four platform-specific controllers.

Most notably, the Eagle eSports Center has its own Xfinity internet connection (2 Gbps scalable to 10 Gbps) powered by fiber with extremely low ping times that can accommodate the high frames per second generated by the gaming PCs.

What games will be available?

We are still working with our parents/guardians and students, as well as our Board of Directors, to finalize the list of game titles available to our students. All games are rated on a scale by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The Eagle eSports Center will include games for competition that are rated no higher than T (Teen - content is generally suitable for ages 13 and up).

The list currently includes:

League of Legends - Riot Games (T)
Rocket League - Epic Games (E)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Nintendo (E)
Fortnite - Epic Games (T)
Overwatch - Blizzard Entertainment (T)
Madden NFL 20 - EA Sports (E)
MLB The Show - Sony (E)
NHL 20 - EA Sports (E)
NBA 2k20 - Take Two Interactive (E)
PGA Tour - EA Sports (E)
FIFA 20 - EA Sports (E)
Hearthstone - Blizzard Entertainment (T)
Smite - Hi-Rez Studios (T)
DOTA 2 - Valve (T)
Minecraft - Mojang (E 10+)
Mario Kart - Nintendo (E)
Forza Motorsports - Turn 10 Studios (E)
Apex Legends - EA (T)
Valorant - Riot Games (T)

The above list is neither finalized nor complete. Check back in the future for updates.

Ongoing Research & Videos Related to eSports

Dr. Anthony Betrus (State University of New York) - TEDx Talk - The Benefits of eSports in K-12 Environments
Dr. Constance Steinkuehler (University of California - Irvine) - Spotlight - Social Interaction and Cognition in eSports
Dr. Mimi Ito (University of California - Irvine) - Spotlight - eSports for 21st Century Learning & Social Interaction
Dr. Jen Jen Chen (University of California - Irvine) - Spotlight - The Long-Term Benefits of eSports

Additional Parent Resources

eSports Center Code of Conduct

Be positive. Compete with, support, and RESPECT EACH OTHER. No toxic behavior is allowed here.

RESPECT THIS SPACE. Take care of the furniture, hardware, and peripherals. Clean up after yourself. No food, drinks, or bags of any kind are allowed.

RESPECT THE GAME. Play fairly and within the rules. Don't undermine the spirit of the game. Always use your assigned profile and be a good ambassador of BSHS.