The College of Journalism and Mass Communications fields an esports team of about 50 members coached by Ryan Tan, assistant professor of sports media and communications. NFL veteran and Husker football alum Ahman Green served as its first coach and taught classes during the program's first two years. The "Intro to Esports" class focuses on coaching and player development, content creation, esports business management and job opportunities in the video game/esports industry. UNL's esports program offers scholarship assistance to team members and is a member of the College Carball Association (CCA). (Updated November 2024.)
Bio
Ryan Tan leads the esports program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research focuses on the development and mastery of control interfaces. Tan is particularly interested in how emerging forms of sports preserve and enhance human competencies with tools and technology. By learning how video games shape players’ emotions, thoughts, and abilities, he aims to design games and gameplay tools that have a positive effect on users. Alongside his academic endeavors, he continues to hold industrial positions in the video game field. In 2023, he won the $1,000 prize from UNL’s annual Faculty Research and Creative Activity Slam with a presentation on how non-innovative approaches to video game mechanic design are increasingly unethical and unsustainable. He has since gone on to integrate emerging technologically-facilitated sports such as drone racing as contexts in which to explore human development in relation to the practice of tool-based play. ((Updated November 2024.)