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AbstractWhile discussion and media coverage of esports (i.e., organized competitive video gaming) has dramatically increased since 2016, the use of esports by established consumer brands has not been emphasized in the sport marketing and sponsorship literature. Though appearing in limited sport management research, esports is a non-traditional sport form that generated just under $1.2 billion in revenue as an industry in 2019. However, many non-endemic traditional consumer brands have resisted capitalizing on esports brand-building opportunities. This paper provides a literature review of the past and current esports and sport marketing literature, resulting in the creation of a figure depicting the esports endemic and non-endemic company evolution of esports brand utilization. The evolution of the competitive video game market details how endemic companies are more apt to establish themselves in the esports space before non-endemic companies because of the way that the industry moves and has acceptance by gamers and non-gamers. Marketers and brand managers that have historically employed traditional sports may glean ideas on how to best enhance and extend their brand through the burgeoning esports industry. Moreover, ideas regarding when companies should enter the esports ecosystem is provided.

Esports has generated an industry of increasing economic and cultural importance. In recent years, universities and other higher education institutions have responded to its growth by establishing programmes of study which aim to satisfy the needs of innovators operating in the area. However, there is not yet consensus on what an esports curriculum should include. Despite being a technology-driven sector with ethical and professional dimensions that intersect computing, current ACM and IEEE curricula do not mention esports. Furthermore, existing courses tend to provide teaching and training on a wide variety of topics aside from those traditionally in computer science. These include: live events management; psychological research; sports science; marketing; public relations; video (livestream) production; and community management; in addition to coaching and communication. This working group examined the requirements for developing esports studies at universities with a focus on understanding career prospects in esports and on the challenges presented by its interdisciplinary complexity. Thereby, paving the way for a framework to support the design of esports curricula in higher education.

The purpose of this study is to identify demographic backgrounds, participation patterns, and racial perceptions of baseball student-athletes at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States. HBCUs were selected for this study because of the dearth of research on student-athletes at these institutions. An 11-item questionnaire and a focus group interview were used for data collection. Data were retrieved from student-athletes who participate in baseball at two selected HBCUs in the Southeastern United States. A grounded theoretical approach was used to examine demographic backgrounds, participation patterns, and racial perceptions of baseball student-athletes at HBCUs. The findings from this study revealed that increasing opportunities at all levels for Blacks to succeed in baseball is the most important way to increase Black participation in baseball.

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