Our mission is to create an environment which allows students to find community, gain teamworking skills and grow in a genuine way that promotes Samford’s faith-based mission—in game and in real life.
Facilities
Students are welcomed to a facility with high-end gaming workstations, the latest consoles, comfortable gaming chairs, and dedicated network connections designed with performance in mind. Both seasoned gamers and new gamers enjoy using the Samford Esports facility.
The facility is open 7 days a week and includes 12 individual PC stations and three group console gaming stations - as well as a competition room with 12 additional PC stations and a shoutcaster booth.
Hardware
Computers
The university has purchased 24 cutting edge HP Omen 45L gaming PCs.
- Intel® Core™ i7-13700K CPU
- 32 GB DDR5 RAM
- NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4080 GPU
Consoles
The university has also purchased current generation Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 gaming consoles. Game controllers, including Xbox Adaptive Controllers for students with physical disabilities, are available on loan while in the facility.
Competition
Samford began competing in spring of 2025, and will be returning this fall!
In our inaugural season, we fielded teams in Fortnite, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Overwatch 2 – reaching post season with 4/6 teams! Competing students follow similar flows found in traditional sports.
Tryouts
Samford hosts a series of tryouts at the beginning of the school year.
Academic Standards
Similar to athletic teams, all students must maintain minimum academic standards to remain eligible for competition.
Competition
Our teams regularly play other colleges and universities in competitive leagues – both online and in person.
Competition Suite
Competitions are held in the state-of-the-art Competition Suite – complete with acoustic seals to maximize noise reduction, room specific climate control, and fully adjustable lighting to ensure a controlled and consistent competitive environment.
Hygienic Requirements
Students are expected to maintain mindful levels of personal hygiene in order to ensure a courteous environment for all.
Practices
Like athletics teams, players participate in regular, structured team practices several hours per day, several days per week to build team skill and cooperation.
Physical Training
Samford’s teams will be held to physical training and exercise requirements. Many studies exist which point to significant performance boosts while players are physically fit. Regular exercise improves general mental health, affords a higher level of controlled breathing, has a positive impact on high stress decision making, improves overall reaction time, and has many other overall positive benefits both in and out of game.
Dietary Recordkeeping
Competitors are required to keep a record of dietary habits. Similar to exercise, many studies have asserted that a healthier lifestyle leads to a measured improvement in game performance. Healthy diet improves overall alertness, immune system health, sleep schedules, and many other areas which effect a players performance.
