Sloane Milstein, Youngiae Kim

Abstract: This study aims to examine decision-making factors influencing the addition of esports to individual institutions and explore potential disparities across different institutional contexts. Examining data from 30 US colleges considering or implementing esports from 2018 to 2022, this study determined factors considered significant by athletic administrators and comparing these factors across diverse institutional contexts classified by the Carnegie Foundation school size categories. The findings showed key considerations such as sport popularity, competitiveness, recruiting, scholarships, facilities, gender equity, university viability, skill development, and student engagement. The findings identified potential variations across different institutional contexts. Large institutions prioritize competitiveness, sport popularity, and culture/diversity; medium-sized schools focus on sport popularity and student engagement; while small and very small schools prioritize sport popularity and logistics/space availability. This study extends the knowledge base on the decision-making process in college sport contexts, shedding light on the factors influencing the adoption of esports in athletic programs.

Keywords: Esports, College Sport Addition Process, Decision-making Factors

Citation: Milstein, S., & Kim, Y. (2024). An examination of decision-making factors in the college sport addition process: A case of esports programs. International Journal of Sport Management, 25(1), 24-49.

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