When students and alumni face off during the upcoming Alumni Weekend Esports Challenge, everyone will end up a winner—no matter the final scores. For Nick Hanson, a 2013 graduate of The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), part of The University of Alabama system, the tournament-style event is the next step in sharing the enthusiasm for esports across campus and beyond.
Shorthand for “electronic sports,” esports has emerged over the last several decades as its own genre of competitive play—one that requires thoughtful planning, precise timing, and skilled execution. Since graduating from UAH with a B.S. in computer science, Nick has remained passionate about videogaming and has frequently volunteered to help with gaming events on campus.
Earlier this year, he decided to take his support a step further and formally organize the Esports Alumni Chapter. While the chapter is still in the early stages of formation, Nick is optimistic about its potential for growth. “There is a rich history of esports on the UAH campus, and I have high hopes for the Alumni chapter,” he says. “We are just at the beginning.”
Rewind to 2009
As a college freshman with a love of videogaming, Nick sought to meet others who shared this passion. He worked to establish a registered student organization based on the videogame Starcraft 2. “There were already a few other video gaming outlets around at the time, such as the UAH LAN Party, and I figured there was broader excitement,” he says. “We put together an interest meeting to great success—70 students showed up from every kind of videogaming community.”
Along with several other enthusiastic gamers, Nick created the Student-run Esports (SReS) club. The group took over the operation of the UAH LAN Party and transitioned it into ChargerCon. Watching the transformation has been rewarding, says Nick. Today, SReS has transitioned to UAH Esports, and ChargerCon has grown to an annual event featuring video game tournaments, a cosplay contest, workshops, a video game indie alley, a retro arcade, and free play areas. UAH Esports offers teams for Apex Legends, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike2, League of Legends, Overwatch, Rainbow Six: Siege, Rocket League, Valorant, and Mario Kart. It also has dedicated space for its members. “The room in the bottom of the CTC, where the esports facility is—that’s where we hosted early UAH LAN party events, so it has come full circle,” he says. “The Esports club has dedicated space reserved for them – it feels like the perfect spot.”
The next chapter for esports at UAH
For Nick, alumni chapters don’t simply bring together graduates with shared interests or experiences—they also present a unique opportunity for graduates to give back. “My goal is to specifically introduce more alumni to the esports community here at UAH,” he says. “I also want to support our students and offer some of the hard-earned wisdom we have gathered running competitive events over the years.”
And he’s not alone. Other UAH alumni—including Jake Griffin, past president of the UAH Alumni Association, Hunter Fuller, a key member of the UAH Office of Information Technology (OIT) network administration team—continue to work to make UAH Esports events a success. While Nick is responsible for founding the Esports Alumni Chapter, he credits Jake for creating and organizing the Alumni Weekend Esports Challenge. In addition, the group currently provides support for monthly student events as well as the annual ChargerCon event in April. One cool benefit? The Esports Chapter has gotten permission to reserve space on the UAH campus for their events.
Nick is also excited about the potential for extending the chapter’s reach beyond the student population to further community engagement. “There is interest in having more public events on campus. There are videogame tournaments on campus that bring players from across Alabama and Tennessee,” he says. “I want to start a new conversation about community on campus and bring more alumni to the table as participants and as volunteers.” He is also interested in the Alumni Esports Chapter supporting all kinds of games —including board games and even a LEGO robotics competition for adults. “There are so many things we can do.”
Interested in joining or starting a chapter?
Open to all UAH alumni, the UAH Alumni Association is free for members. Alumni chapters are a great way to stay connected to fellow Charger alumni who share the same interests and goals.
A list of current chapters is available on the UAH Alumni Association page. You can join an existing chapter or start your own!
