Joey Gawrysiak, executive director of the esports degree program (left) and Arnold Hur, CEO of Gen.G (Photo courtesy of Gen.G)

Syracuse University and global esports and gaming organization are collaborating on a multi-year partnership designed to enhance student engagement opportunities and support the University’s first-of-its-kind esports communications and management bachelor’s program.

The partnership will feature participation in the , which offers students the opportunity to take part in an intensive, three-week program to study in South Korea. The partnership will also bring Gen.G’s Campus Takeover conference and program to Syracuse to celebrate the University’s soon-to-be-completed esports hub in the center of campus at the Schine Student Center. Campus Takeover events draw students, faculty, professional leaders and other stakeholders from around the world to discuss key issues and emerging trends in the esports and gaming industries.

Syracuse University is the first major university in the country to offer an esports bachelor’s program. The degree is offered jointly by the Newhouse School of Public Communications and .

“As a leader in esports education, it is essential for Syracuse to deliver to the right mix of academic excellence and hands-on experiences to our students,” says Joey Gawrysiak, executive director of the . “Given Gen.G’s outstanding track record of delivering educational programming that resonates with students, we look forward to building this important partnership in a growing field.”

The Gen.G Practicum Abroad program will offer Syracuse students an expansive hands-on learning experience in the heart of the esports industry in South Korea. The program led by Gen.G professionals includes custom esports programming, mentorship by industry professionals, special lectures, industry “lunch-and-learns” and professional networking, all while immersing students in Korean culture and its history in esports. Students will visit competitive organizations and gaming publisher studios.

Students will also take part in Gen.G’s award-winning Campus Takeover event, which will be hosted for the first time on the Syracuse campus in fall 2025. The free-to-enter conference will focus on supporting the esports ecosystem in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, promoting academic, broadcast and competitive excellence through informative panels and seminars featuring industry professionals. The Campus Takeover at Syracuse will also be the first to feature an innovative business case study competition.

“Syracuse and Gen.G believe education plays a critical role in the future development of esports and gaming globally, so we’re committed to delivering hands-on experiences for the students who seek a rewarding career in our industry,” says Arnold Hur, CEO of Gen.G. Hur and Yugina Yan, the company’s assistant director of operations for education will serve as development advisors to the Syracuse’s esports program.

Last spring, Gen.G hosted industry lectures for students in the Department of Sport Management in Falk College and a marketing lecture exclusively for Syracuse esports students during the League of Legends World Championships in Berlin.

Gen.G’s commitment to education is celebrating its fifth year with its Gen.G Foundation, a $1 million pledge over the next 10 years to advance the importance of education in the esports and gaming industry. The foundation awards scholarships to more than 40 students across the United States. Gen.G also operates the Gen.G Global Academy, the world’s first fully integrated academic esports program in Korea.

About Gen.G

United under #TigerNation, Gen.G’s core mission is to help fans and athletes use the power of gaming and esports to get ahead in and beyond the competition. With an emphasis on education, DEI initiatives, and innovative partnerships, Gen.G is a commercial and thought leader, building a global, inclusive and cross-cultural future for gaming. Its unique portfolio of teams includes the Seoul Dynasty (Overwatch League), League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), the Gen.G & Gen.G Black VALORANT teams, the PUBG Gen.G team, and the NBA2K’s Gen.G Tigers (the first non-NBA owned team in the NBA 2K League). Gen.G has also been a major proponent in seamlessly bringing in non-endemic brand partners to the world of gaming and esports, including 1Password, Burberry, Crocs, King’s Hawaiian, McDonald’s, Mobil1, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, and more. Gen.G also operates the Gen.G Global Academy, the world’s first fully-integrated academic esports program in Korea. Gen.G’s teams, content creators and corporate staff work out of their offices in Los Angeles, Seoul and Shanghai. For more information, visit GenG.gg or follow on Twitter @GenG.

When then-high school junior Isabelle “Izzy” Kaplan visited Syracuse University in March 2023, the University had just announced it would be offering a new, first-of-its-kind degree program focused on esports starting in the fall of 2024. The program would be offered jointly by the and the .

Kaplan was already interested in majoring in communications, but she also enjoyed playing esports and was excited when she heard about this new major during her visit. When she later told her mother that she wanted to attend Syracuse and enter this groundbreaking program, Emily Kaplan wondered what took her daughter so long.

“My parents support me being happy; they want the best for me,” Kaplan says. “They were there when I was told about this program, and they saw how my eyes lit up. When I mentioned it to my mom, she said, ‘You know, I’m surprised you’re just saying something about it now because I saw how you first looked, and I’d thought you’d immediately jump on that.’”

Kaplan, who’s from Long Island, New York, is now a member of the inaugural esports class. The program is unique because it features three tracks that combine elements of Falk College and the Newhouse School – esports business and management, esports communications, and esports media and design – and as Kaplan starts her academic career, she’s leaning toward the communications track.

But for now, first things first, and Kaplan is one of about 20 students taking Esports Executive Director and Professor of Practice ’s Introduction to Esports class. Gawrysiak says the introductory class is designed to help students understand the esports ecosystem how it operates in society and at Syracuse, and to get them excited about the major because of the hands-on opportunities they’ll experience throughout all of their courses.

Esports Executive Director and Professor of Practice Joey Gawrysiak, shown here teaching the Introduction to Esports class, says Syracuse University’s esports program was built to prepare students for a successful career in esports and various other professions.

“An esports education is not about just classroom learning, and it’s not just about preparing students to work in esports,” says Gawrysiak, who built the esports program at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, before coming to Syracuse. “It’s about preparing them to have a very successful career by the time they graduate in whatever career it might be, whether it’s esports, esports adjacent, the entertainment industry, traditional sports, broadcast journalism, business, or whatever they might want to get into.”

As she navigates her first semester on campus, Kaplan is splitting her time with Newhouse and Falk, taking basic courses such as Communications 117 and 100 with Newhouse and Principles of Sport Management with Falk. To learn more about why Kaplan chose Syracuse and the esports major, we sat down with her for this Q&A.

How did you get interested in esports? Had you ever considered a career involving esports?

I was 3 or 4 years old when I got my first video game. We loved playing Mario Kart and all the Super Mario games, and it’s been present in my life ever since.

I didn’t think about taking a career approach to it until about last year, because I actually found out about it when I toured Syracuse for the first time. I was interested in communications, I was looking at Newhouse, and I met someone who was working on developing the (esports) program.

This was before any of these people (the esports staff) were here. So, it was still just an idea being developed and they said it’s a very new program, very experimental. Not a lot of other schools have tried it to this level, and I thought that was cool because I love video games, and I’m interested in the fact that it’s communications.

What was the discussion like with your parents when you told them you wanted to be an esports major?

They like innovation, and this was brand new. They were a little worried because especially over (COVID) quarantine, everyone was a bit of a hermit, and I was on video games a lot. And they were concerned that maybe I’d be playing it too much here.

But then I started explaining to them that it wasn’t really the playing aspect – it was more the communications, forming connections, and networking – and they were interested. They thought I could really do something with this, and they thought it was also super cool that this field is becoming more balanced with males and females.

Would you like to get more involved with the management and production side of esports events on campus?

Yes, I’d love to be involved. I’m helping right now with the development of a club team, which will hopefully be a varsity team next year.

And it’s not just me. Everything here is very group-oriented. You’re never alone doing this kind of stuff, which is nice, and I never feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. There’s always some sort of guidance or someone else who’s also clueless so you don’t feel as bad!

My main goal is to obviously be friendly with everyone here, but also find connections and network through this very connected area because everyone seems to know everyone in this. It’s a little scary, but it’s also super cool and convenient.

What do you envision your next four years will be like in this major?

For me and the program in general, everything is going to be very experimental because this is year one, it’s still brand new and so fresh. And I think that’s exciting because it’s a pilot program and everything’s still being developed. Classes are still being developed.

There are three paths that you could take with this, so that’s all still being figured out. And no one fully knows where you’re going to end up. But the fact that there’s a lot of flexibility with this makes it very interesting.

It’s going to be a good learning experience, not just as a student, but probably for everyone working here. And I think it’ll be successful.

This spring, Kaplan will have an opportunity to take the Business of Esports class with Gawrysiak, and the Esports Production class with Esports Communications and Management Co-Director and Newhouse Professor and College of Arts and Sciences Associate Professor . Gawrysiak says the students will be encouraged to engage in the program outside of the classroom by joining a team, helping to manage a team, managing one of the esports and gaming centers on campus, or taking advantage of travel abroad opportunities.

To learn more about the esports program, tracks of study, and experiential learning opportunities, please visit the web page.