Tuesday, Jul 08, 2025 • Cristal Gonzalez : Contact
Just like most things in Texas, esports are big in the Lone Star State.
As of 2022, the industry comprised more than 190 companies and 20,000 jobs in Texas, producing an estimated economic impact of over $5 billion annually.
One region where this growth can be clearly seen is North Texas. From the Esports Stadium in Arlington hosting some of the largest esports events and productions in the country to the dozen-plus organizations backing competing teams—including The University of Texas at Arlington’s—esports in North Texas continues to develop.
UT Arlington offers several quests, academically and recreationally, for Mavericks passionate about esports and gaming. In UTA’s College of Liberal Arts, any student aiming to pursue a career in the field can add the esports certificate to their degree plan and take dedicated courses applicable to careers within esports and video game design. And gamers on campus can try out for the University’s five esports varsity teams, which focus on different games: Valorant, League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League or Super Smash Bros.
For National Gaming Day (July 8) Noah Flint, assistant director of esports, and Desiree Henderson, professor and associate dean of education in the College of Liberal Arts, shared more about esports at UTA.
There are five gaming teams here at UTA and they are each very different from one another. What are some of the similar qualities that each has and looks for in members?
Noah Flint: Passion’s the most important thing. As far as esports has come, it’s still not at the level of traditional athletics in terms of support or funding, so if you want to get involved, you really have to want to get involved because you are taking cuts in other areas of your life in order to put forth 20 to 30 hours a week to practice and compete.
When it comes to our teams, we look for the non-tangibles—how coachable a student is, how well they communicate with their peers and teammates, their drive to practice and compete while still performing well in the classroom. That’s the most important. We’ve taken students who are less competitively inclined than their teammates, but once they have been put into a highly competitive environment, they really start to improve, flourish and come out of their shell. We have students who may not make one of the varsity teams but continue showing up and working hard; that takes a lot of grit, but goes a really long way. It’s something we’re always looking for. If there is a student who is crazy good, obviously that’s great; we love to have those types of students as well. But the first thing I look for is always those non-tangibles.
Related: UTA alumnus launches gaming apparel company
From your personal experience, do you see esports getting bigger each year, especially here in North Texas?
Flint: Yes, I think North Texas specifically is one of the areas with the highest support both at the collegiate and professional levels. UTA is one of the most competitive programs in the state and the country, and the area has multiple professional teams that are competing at large national and international competitions.
The Esports Stadium in Arlington has really helped expand the sport. There’s always tournaments and conventions being held there, which creates opportunities for our students to see professional teams play or network with people who are already working in the field. So, do I see it getting bigger here? 100%.
UTA offers an esports certificate to students. What does the coursework look like and why did it start being offered?
Desiree Henderson: We observed a growing interest in video games, both in the study and production of video games, and realized that a Certificate in esports would be a great way to pull together fields like video game studies and video game design. These career paths share something in common and it’s that they’re very interdisciplinary and require a wide range of skills. For example, a video game designer has to have artistic skills, but they also need to be able to tell a story. After seeing this and knowing what it takes to have successful careers in esports and video games, we knew we could create a program that would give students that footprint across multiple disciplines. There are 24 courses in the College of Liberal Arts that we identified that would give students the training and background they’d need to pursue careers in this field. The certificate program is very flexible, we only have one required course to lay the foundation and it is a history of video games course, but all other courses are selected by students based on their career and personal interests.
Related: Maverick entrepreneur calls play-by-play for esports
The esports certificate has been offered at UT Arlington for a while now, when it was introduced, what type of student was the certificate designed for and how would they benefit from adding it to their degree plan?
Desiree Henderson: There are lots of people who want to work in the field of esports or video games and there’s a lot of ways to do that. Students may want to go into the field as a producer, an artist or designer, a game storyteller or perhaps even as a musician for in-game music. As I’ve mentioned it’s field that’s very cross disciplinary. We’ve tried to cast a wide net on which courses would benefit and interest the greatest number of students. In this program, we’re here to encourage and assist students to create the right pathway for successful careers in esports. We want them to leave UTA with a depth of interest and expertise in this field. There are a lot of video game production companies in North Texas, and it’s our job to create an educational environment in which our students are properly equipped to either intern as students or move into full-time jobs after graduation. I really feel this program can help with that.
About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
Celebrating its 130th anniversary in 2025, The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of the thriving Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. With a student body of over 41,000, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.
