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College of Applied Human Sciences School of Sport Sciences

Esports Business and Entertainment, BA

At WVU, you don’t just study esports. You experience it.

From content creation and broadcast production to live event management, brand development, and community engagement, the Esports Business and Entertainment BA prepares you for careers in one of the fastest-growing sectors of digital entertainment.

At WVU, you don’t just study esports. You experience it.The program is built around WVU’s esports ecosystem, connecting academic coursework to varsity competition, student organizations, community outreach, and real-world projects with actual audiences.

Coursework covers esports business, marketing, communications, governance, event management, digital media, and entertainment operations, while helping you build the professional network and industry skills to compete for jobs in the field.

Your Degree Plan

WVU Esports team poses with Red Bull Campus Clutch trophy.
In a fast-changing industry with growing career opportunities, the Esports Business and Entertainment program helps you build a well-rounded skill set and understand the role of esports in today’s world.

In a fast-changing industry with expanding career opportunities, the Esports Business and Entertainment major prepares you for careers across esports, digital media, entertainment, and live events.

Courses integrate applied learning in event operations, broadcast production, social media, content creation, and tournament management. You’ll learn from faculty and industry professionals with experience across esports, sport, entertainment, and event management, connecting classroom work to current industry practice.

The program culminates with an internship and capstone experience, so you graduate with professional experience, a polished resume, and a portfolio ready to show employers.

Take advantage of special options related to this major:

Honors

Expand your curiosity and enhance your curriculum through the WVU Honors College. Two programs are offered: Honors Foundations and Honors in Action.

The WVU Difference

What sets this program apart?

  • Built Within a Big 12 and R1 University Environment. WVU’s standing as a Big 12 and R1 research university brings resources, competitive credibility, and a culture of innovation to the esports program that gives you a professional environment that extends well beyond gaming.
  • Connected to the Future of Collegiate Esports. WVU engages with national conversations surrounding collegiate esports, governance, student development, and emerging industry trends.
  • Access to High-Level Competitive and Performance Environments. Students learn alongside nationally ranked varsity esports teams that emphasize collaboration, communication, preparation, performance, and competitive excellence.
  • More Than Gaming. The program connects esports to broader industries, including digital media, entertainment, marketing, broadcasting, event management, and emerging technology-driven careers.
  • Learn in an Ecosystem Built for Experience. WVU’s esports ecosystem brings together academics, varsity competition, student organizations, livestream productions, campus events, and community engagement to create hands-on learning experiences connected to real-world audiences and real projects.

Learn by Doing

Get involved outside the classroom.

Learn Through Experience
The program goes beyond the classroom through direct involvement in WVU’s esports ecosystem. You’ll work on real projects with real audiences, building professional skills across production, events, media, and community engagement.

Build Your Portfolio
By the time you graduate, you’ll have portfolio-ready work to show employers. Applied projects and coursework are designed to help you demonstrate creativity, practical skill, and professional experience across esports and digital entertainment.

Connect with Industry
Coursework is informed by current industry practices, giving you insight into emerging trends, career pathways, and the business side of esports and digital entertainment.

Community and Outreach
Students may participate in tournaments, camps, and outreach initiatives supporting K-12 and community esports programming in West Virginia and beyond. These experiences build leadership, communication, and organizational skills while helping grow responsible gaming culture and digital learning environments in the communities around you.

Careers and Outcomes

How does this degree prepare students for a career?

Entertainment and Recreation Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate entertainment and recreational activities and operations of a recreational facility, including cruise ships and parks.

Has a Bright Outlook

Median Salary: $77,180

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Project Management Specialists

Analyze and coordinate the schedule, timeline, procurement, staffing, and budget of a product or service on a per project basis. Lead and guide the work of technical staff. May serve as a point of contact for the client or customer.

Has a Bright Outlook

Median Salary: $100,750

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General and Operations Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate the operations of public or private sector organizations, overseeing multiple departments or locations. Duties and responsibilities include formulating policies, managing daily operations, and planning the use of materials and human resources, but are too diverse and general in nature to be classified in any one functional area of management or administration, such as personnel, purchasing, or administrative services. Usually manage through subordinate supervisors. Excludes First-Line Supervisors.

Has a Bright Outlook

Median Salary: $102,920

Possible Job Titles: General Manager (GM), Operations Director, Operations Manager, Store Manager

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Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes

Represent and promote artists, performers, and athletes in dealings with current or prospective employers. May handle contract negotiation and other business matters for clients.

Has a Bright Outlook

Median Salary: $96,310

Possible Job Titles: Agent, Booking Agent, Talent Agent, Theatrical Agent

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Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners

Coordinate activities of staff, convention personnel, or clients to make arrangements for group meetings, events, or conventions.

Has a Bright Outlook

Median Salary: $59,440

Possible Job Titles: Conference Planning Manager, Conference Services Manager, Convention Services Manager (CSM), Events Manager

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Media Programming Directors

Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in preparation of radio or television station program schedules and programs, such as sports or news.

Has a Bright Outlook

Median Salary: $83,480

Possible Job Titles: News Director, Program Director (PD), Program Manager, Programming Director

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Real Skills for Your Career

The Esports Business and Entertainment major builds both industry-specific knowledge and transferable professional skills valued across business, media, entertainment, and technology. You’ll develop competencies in project management, digital communication, content creation, branding, audience engagement, entrepreneurship, and leadership that carry well beyond the esports industry.

Graduates pursue careers in esports operations, event and tournament management, broadcast and livestream production, digital content creation, social media and community management, marketing and sponsorship, and entertainment operations.

Further Your Education

Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Pathway

High-achieving students may have the opportunity to pursue an accelerated pathway into WVU’s Executive Sport Management, MS, beginning graduate coursework before completing their undergraduate degree. This option can reduce the overall time and cost of earning a master’s degree while providing an early start on advanced coursework, professional networking, and leadership development.

Meet Your Community

The Esports Business and Entertainment family will inspire you.

Portrait of Charlie Brown
“Once I learned about the Esports major and looked deeper, I realized all the stuff you could do with it. It instantly felt like the right fit for me when I thought about my future career.”

Charlie Brown

Portrait of Christopher Hanna
“I've always had a big passion for video games, but I never fully realized that I could make it a career. WVU's Esports program has given me the chance to take that passion and knowledge that I have and really expand on it to be able to get opportunities that I wouldn't have had otherwise.”

Christopher Hanna

FAQs

Common questions and answers about Esports Business and Entertainment.

Esports refers to organized, competitive video gaming involving individuals or teams at amateur, collegiate, and professional levels. Beyond competition, esports has grown into a global industry encompassing event production, broadcasting, digital media, marketing, sponsorship, business operations, and entertainment.

No. The program is designed for students interested in the broader esports and digital entertainment industries, including event management, marketing, livestream production, digital media, branding, business operations, and community engagement. You can engage with esports in different ways depending on your interests, whether through competition, content creation, event support, leadership, or campus organizations.

The program combines business, marketing, communications, entertainment, and digital media with esports-specific coursework and applied learning connected to the digital entertainment industry. You’ll develop transferable professional skills while exploring how esports intersects with technology, media, livestreaming, branding, audience engagement, and modern entertainment.

Few programs combine a Big 12 and R1 university environment with a fully integrated esports ecosystem that includes varsity competition, student organizations, livestream productions, tournaments, and community engagement. At WVU, those aren’t separate experiences. They’re connected, and your coursework is built around them.

You can engage with WVU’s esports ecosystem through the varsity team, student organizations, tournaments, livestream productions, content creation, community outreach, and campus events. These experiences help you build friendships, leadership skills, professional networks, and real-world experience while becoming part of WVU’s growing esports community.

Graduates may pursue careers in esports operations, event and tournament management, broadcast and livestream production, digital content creation, social media and community management, marketing and sponsorship, and entertainment operations. The program also prepares you for roles across a variety of industries that value communication, leadership, project management, and digital media skills.

Yes. You’ll develop transferable skills in communication, leadership, project management, marketing, digital media, event operations, and branding that are valuable across a variety of industries, including entertainment, sport, media, business operations, and technology-driven fields.

Esports continues to grow as part of the broader global gaming and digital entertainment industry, with projected increases in revenue, livestreaming, digital content, and audience engagement over the next decade. The gaming industry has also emerged as one of the world’s largest entertainment sectors, generating more annual revenue than the global film and music industries combined.

 

Esports is also gaining recognition internationally through new Olympic esports initiatives, continued investment from professional sport organizations and media companies, and rapid growth in collegiate programs nationwide. These trends are creating new opportunities in event operations, broadcasting, digital media, marketing, community engagement, coaching, and program leadership.

Places and Spaces

See where you’ll study, research, and create.

The varsity esports team talk to each other at the WVU Esports Facility.

WVU Esports Practice and Competition Facility

Home to the 5-time national champion varsity esports team, the WVU esports facility is at University Place Apartments adjacent to the downtown area of the Morgantown campus. The arena is equipped with Alienware high-performance gaming PCs and serves as a working hub for broadcast production, photo and video, community events, and middle and high school tours.
A large Flying WV looms over the interior of the WVU Esports Broadcast and Marketing Studio.

WVU Esports Broadcast and Marketing Studio

The broadcast and marketing studio is a working production space where you can develop on-air skills in casting, hosting, interviewing, and live event production. The studio also supports marketing and video editing for the varsity program, giving students a professional environment to build broadcasting and communication skills. Since 2022, the space has been used to produce and cast more than 100 matches and events.

Virtual Tour

It’s the next best thing to being here. Virtually tour our campus and residence halls.

Student Life

You'll experience epic traditions, quality academics, and a supportive community that feels like home.

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See WVU in person and start imagining life as a Mountaineer.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the Esports Business and Entertainment major, first-time freshmen must meet WVU's first-time freshman admission requirements. Interested in transferring? Review the transfer admission requirements.

Tuition and Aid

How much does Esports Business and Entertainment at WVU cost? And how can you save?

Tuition and Fees

Estimated rates are available on our tuition website. Anyone who is not a current West Virginia resident, including international students, will be charged non-resident rates.

Scholarships

Estimate your eligibility for merit scholarships at WVU Morgantown.

Ways to Save

Beyond scholarships, here are other ways to reduce your cost of attending WVU.

Financial Aid

The most important step toward funding your future with financial aid for the Esports Business and Entertainment, BA is submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

How to Complete the FAFSA

Start at Another WVU Campus

You can start your career with WVU at another campus and transfer to WVU Morgantown.

Explore WVU System

Transfer Articulation Agreements

To simplify the transfer process, we have formal agreements with certain institutions. These agreements outline the courses you should take to prepare for transferring to WVU.

Review the full list of transfer articulation agreements to see if your institution is listed.

Learn How to Transfer Course Credits

Request Info

Want to know more about Esports Business and Entertainment at WVU? Fill out our request form to receive more information.

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