NewHavenBIZ

n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 15 MADISON GUILFORD CHESHIRE BETHANY WOODBRIDGE ORANGE MILFORD SHELTON DERBY ANSONIA OXFORD SEYMOUR HAMDEN NORTH HAVEN NEW HAVEN WEST HAVEN BRANFORD NORTH BRANFORD WALLINGFORD EAST HAVEN MADISON GUILFORD CHESHIRE BETHANY WOODBRIDGE ORANGE MILFORD SHELTON DERBY ANSONIA OXFORD SEYMOUR HAMDEN NORTH HAVEN NEW HAVEN WEST HAVEN BRANFORD NORTH BRANFORD WALLINGFORD EAST HAVEN Become a Sponsor in 2022 Matches • Match sponsors can choose one or more nonprofits • Matches drive donors to help nonprofits raise more $ and meet the match • Donors are grateful to match sponsors Prizes • Prize sponsors can choose a group of nonprofits by geography and/or cause • Prizes drive donors to help nonprofits raise more $ and win the prize amount • Donors are grateful to prize sponsors Interested? Contact Jackie at jdowning@cfgnh.org. Visit TheGreatGive.org for more informa on about the event. Show your commitment to our local community, enhance goodwill, grow your business… and have fun doing it! Last year The Great Give a racted over 15,000 donors and raised more than $3.3 million for hundreds of nonprofits serving Greater New Haven. Since The Great Give began in 2010, more than $17 million has been raised for 450+ nonprofits. The Community Founda on and its partner in philanthropy, the Valley Community Founda on, will once again contribute approximately $175,000 in matching gi s and prizes to encourage giving in 2022. You can join us by becoming a sponsor ($1,000 min.) and increase visibility for your business. Sponsor a match or prize to help the nonprofits you choose leverage more donor dollars. TCF-GreatGive-Ad-0201.indd 1 TCF-GreatGive-Ad-0201.indd 1 2/2/22 11:50 AM 2/2/22 11:50 AM of that core audience between the ages 16 and 24, a key target market for colleges. "Esports can be a way [for students] to get their foot in the door in a num- ber of different industries, including professional and collegiate sports," DeCarli said. Tech company partners And it's not just the business aspects of the industry making gaming centers more common on college campuses; it's the social, recreational and multidisci- plinary educational opportunities too, says George Claffey, chief information officer at New Britain-based Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), which opened a new high-tech esports center in September 2020. e facility, which included the in- volvement of tech companies Dell and Microso, cost $300,000 and reflects a growing trend on campuses across the country. is year, CCSU has more than 300 esports and gaming club members — up from 150 students in 2020 — and also features an intercollegiate team of 60 students who compete in Eastern College Athletic Conference gaming events. While CCSU does not cur- rently offer any esports-specific degree programs, its gaming center has been incorporated across a number of aca- demic disciplines since it opened. In fact, this year the school offered a lightweight grant competition — awarding $30,000 across 12 grants — to encourage faculty to find innovative ways to leverage the gaming center in their courses. A geographic information systems professor, for instance, found the center helpful for exploring the 3D rendering of topographical maps, while an En- glish professor used the gaming center to practice storytelling by having the class develop a video-game storyline, given the elaborate character narratives common in many modern games. e gaming center has also helped create student bonding experiences and better connects CCSU's commuters with on-campus students, Claffey said. "Students that might [not other- wise] have met, connect in our esports room," Claffey said. "And it helps students feel like they're meeting other students and peers as part of a com- munity that is also interested in esports and gaming." Increased demand Esports academic programs have also been a draw. Jim McGregor, chair- person and professor of recreation, tourism, and sports management at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, which launched an es- ports minor in the spring of 2020, said esports classes have been at capacity every semester. "We were [hearing] increased de- mand from students [to offer] a more formal program relative to gaming," McGregor said. He said the program has drawn interest from across the academic spec- trum, including business, communica- tions and computer science majors. It's a trend McGregor said he sees continuing as esports and gaming teams proliferate at the high school level and draw more interest from prospective students. In 2018, Connecticut became one of the first states to offer competitive K-12 esports. e state's colleges have followed suit. Waterbury-based Post University is debuting a gaming and esports manage- ment major at both the undergraduate and graduate levels this spring, and the University of New Haven — which features a 1,300-square-foot esports training and competition center — has been offering esports-related degrees since 2019. n Albertus Magnus College has launched a new 18-credit minor in esports administration and management.

• Cover