POCATELLO, October 6 — Idaho State University unveiled the Direct Communications Esports Arena on Tuesday afternoon in Pocatello, Idaho, marking the official opening of a state-of-the-art competitive gaming facility located on the second floor of the Pond Student Union. The arena was made possible by a contribution from Direct Communications, a local telecommunications company, and replaces the previous modest arcade and gaming space that once occupied the building’s first floor.
The facility features custom-built gaming computers constructed specifically for the university, each built with high-end components such as advanced graphics cards. In addition to the PC gaming stations, the arena includes a dedicated section for casual Nintendo Switch and Xbox console gaming, as well as a production setup for broadcasting matches in high definition with commentators.
A separate competition stage is reserved for varsity esports matches. The arena will eventually be open to all students, with general access planned for the spring semester, and will offer designated hours when any student can drop in for short sessions, even as brief as 20 minutes, to play from a library of games on the computers or use the console area.
Idaho State’s varsity esports program, now in its third year, fields teams in several games: Valorant, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Super Smash Bros., and Rocket League, with corresponding junior varsity teams in the same titles. Students must be enrolled to join a team, and they can apply via an interest form on the program’s website; tryouts are typically held before the academic year begins, with additional tryouts available if a player departs midyear.
Varsity players are eligible for scholarship support, which the program’s associate vice president for auxiliary services, Lowell Richards, said reflects the time-intensive nature of competitive gaming, comparing it to traditional athletics like basketball or volleyball. The Rocket League team recently won the Big Sky Championship in early March, defeating Weber State, Northern Arizona, and Sacramento State in the grand finals, which earned Idaho State a berth in the National Association of Collegiate Esports national tournament — limited to the top collegiate programs nationwide.
University President Robert Wagner stated that the new arena could help elevate the institution’s profile in national esports competition. Richards also noted the university’s intent to host high school and college tournaments to aid in student recruitment and confirmed that Idaho State has submitted a bid to host the next Big Sky Championship. Tim May, president of Direct Communications, was acknowledged by both Richards and Wagner for the company’s contribution to the project.
The arena is open to spectators during practices and matches, and most varsity games are streamed on the team’s Twitch channel, with schedules expected to be posted on the program’s website.
