Although there are no live sports for Southeast students to enjoy this fall, intramural and club sports are offering the next best thing: Esports.

Intramural and Club Sports Coordinator Tyler McLemore is responsible for creating leagues and overseeing the programs.

“Students can play in-person at the Esports Arena,” Mclemore said. “They can play online, or they can play in-person at each other’s homes, based on their comfort level.”

The games being offered are leagues in Madden 21, NBA 2K, MLB The Show, NHL and FIFA, as well as tournaments in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, UFC, Mario Kart and FIFA. The MLB league is exclusive to PS4, and Super Smash Bros along with Mario Kart are exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. The other games are offered for both PS4 and Xbox.

“Students can sign up by scanning the QR code on the flyers around campus which takes you to the IM League where you register,’’ McLemore said. “Or, you can go to your portal under the ‘Students’ tab, in the ‘Student Services’ section and click ‘Recreational Sports,’ click ‘Intramural and Club Sports,’ and you can sign up there.”

Leagues have a guaranteed six games with the top four teams advancing to a playoff and tournaments are either double or single elimination. Registration for the leagues will cost 10 dollars, and the tournaments will cost five dollars. The leagues run on a set schedule, whereas the tournaments are elimination-style with less games guaranteed. Registration for Madden, NBA 2k, MLB and NHL leagues closed on Sept. 7, and registration for Super Smash Bros closed Sept. 9. Students have until Sept. 18 to register to be in the UFC tournament, until Oct. 8 to register for the Mario Kart tournament, and until Nov. 5 to register for the FIFA league and tournament.

“Most of our teams have been from Greek organizations,” McLemore said. “I was expecting our numbers to take a hit due to COVID, but surprisingly, there hasn’t been that big of a dive, so we’re right there but still a little behind last semester.”

If students have suggestions for games they would like to play, they can contact McLemore by email at tmclemore@semo.edu or call the Rec Center office.

“If people want to play Rocket League or Overwatch, I’ll figure out a way to do that,” McLemore said.

Esports, like other Intramurals, are a way for students to relax and enjoy activities with friends.

“I just want to create an atmosphere for students to be able to relieve stress. That’s the main take-away I want to be able to do for students is to be a stress reliever versus stress cause,” McLemore said.

For more information on Esports, students can visit Intramural and Club Sports website.