Everything You Need to Know About Esports at RIT

Competitive gaming has seen a meteoric rise in the past 10 years due to its engaging, action-packed, adventurous appeal, and no place is better to explore that hobby than RIT. With over 20 competitive gaming teams from Hearthstone to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, RIT hosts players at the top of their game in nearly every genre of gaming. As a result of fostering such a healthy competitive environment, RIT teams have won 18 national championships since being established as a club in 2016. Overall, RIT Esports boasts over 2,600 members, positioning it as one of the largest student-run clubs on campus. The club is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of major and skill level. No matter what games you play or interests you have, there is a spot for you within RIT Esports.

As of this year, the school has also introduced scholarships to entice more players to attend the school! Esports scholarships are valued at $5,000 per year, providing $2,500 per semester to selected students. Applications are now open for the 2026-2027 Academic Year. Scholarships are open to any talented individual looking to participate in RIT Esports, either as a competitive player or behind the scenes on one of seven operations teams.

Personally, I am a member of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe team! I’ve been playing since Fall 2024, and have met a community of like-minded gamers who are incredibly talented at a notoriously casual game and pushing ourselves to our mechanical limits. We play in a tournament called the Collegiate Karting League, where colleges all around North America compose teams of 10-12 people to compete in 6v6 matches. Our matches are called “wars” and consist of 12 races, where the team with the most points by the end of the 12 races wins. Points are distributed based on what placement you score at the end of each race. Because it’s a team game, your individual placements are much less relevant in comparison to how the rest of your team fared in the race. For example, if you got 1st in a race, it doesn’t mean as much if the rest of your team got 8^th through 12^th.

I have made many new friends as a result of playing on the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe team, and it’s one of the highlights of my week when I get to play with them. If you’re attending RIT, there’s a decent likelihood that you enjoy video games in some way, and are potentially very good at them. If that description applies to you, I highly encourage joining the club and finding a community of like-minded gamers! Your horizons will only continue to expand as a student, gamer, and person through connecting with people over something you love doing.