University of Mary Washington students are used to going ballistic over an at-the-buzzer 3-pointer or a fast-as-lightning volleyball spike in a brightly illuminated Anderson Center. But how do offense and defense play out in a dimly lit room with video consoles – and mashing and peeling and speed-boosts?

Get ready, UMW. Esports is on the way, and it’s revolutionizing preconceived notions about collegiate athletics. The cyber sport joins Mary Washington’s 19 NCAA sponsored sports and two team sports, as a third team sport. And it’s open to everyone, regardless of physical prowess.

“There’s a real sense of community around esports … an inclusive nature about it,” said UMW Assistant Athletic Director Caitlin Moore, who played a critical role in the development of Mary Washington’s esports program, unveiled last month. “Esports is not going away,” she said. “It will only grow.”

Having expanded globally over the last decade, esports, short for “electronic sports,” involves teams competing against each other in video game tournaments both face-to-face and virtually. Statistics show that video gaming is a bigger business than ever, eclipsing movies and music combined, with revenue around $60 billion worldwide and burgeoning. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of more than 4,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Va., a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Va., which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers