Esports Foundations-Illinois

This custom ebook includes chapters from Esports Business Management. It has been specifically designed for students taking the course Esports Foundations (RST 199) at University of Illinois.

Audience

Custom ebook for students taking the course Esports Foundations (RST 199) at University of Illinois.

Foreword
James O’Connor

Introduction to Esports
David P. Hedlund, R.C. Smith III, Gil Fried, Stanley Nana Anyang, Sang-ho Lee, Michael Newhouse-Bailey, Janelle E. Wells

Levels of Esports
R.C. Smith III, Roger M. Caramanica, Robert Dranoff, Eric Kammeyer, Daniel Liang, Nick Rider, Justin Smith

Esports Culture and Issues
Roger M. Caramanica, Aaron Colaiacomo, Rob Holub, Sang-ho Lee, John McDermott, Michael Newhouse-Bailey, Sheng Qiang, Ryan Rogers, Melissa Welby, Ashley Witt

Esports Stakeholders
Gil Fried, Aaron Castellan, Aaron Colaiacomo, Clint Kennedy, Michael Newhouse-Bailey, Sheng Qiang

Esports Governance
Gil Fried, Tobias M. Scholz, Jason Batzofin, Clint Kennedy, Sang-ho Lee, Lance Mudd, Michael Newhouse-Bailey, Colin Webster

Esports Careers
Roger M. Caramanica, Lisa Cosmas Hanson, Taylor Johnson, Moira McArdle, Michael Newhouse-Bailey

Afterword
Tobias M. Scholz

David P. Hedlund, PhD, is the chairperson of the division of sport management at St. John's University, where he is also a faculty expert and faculty leader on research and topics related to esports.

Hedlund earned his PhD in sport management and a certificate in measurement and statistics from Florida State University. He has more than 20 years of domestic and international experience in sport, esports, coaching, business, education, and analytics. He has published more than 30 journal articles and book chapters on related topics. He is a research committee member for the International Esports Federation, an educational program assistant for the United States Esports Federation, and a member of the Esports Research Network.

In recent years, Hedlund has also acted as a consultant for dozens of domestic and international high school, college, and professional esports teams as well as business and entrepreneurial ventures, including the World Cyber Games and the Global Esports Executive Summit.

Gil Fried, JD, is a professor at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. He has taught sport law, sport finance, and sport facility management for more than 25 years and has written numerous articles, books, and book chapters on various sport management issues. He taught the first business-school-based esports class several years ago and has worked to expand the professionalism of the esports industry. Fried speaks throughout the United States on issues such as building and financing facilities and dealing with risk management concerns.

Fried was a practicing attorney before becoming an academician. Before that, he was a collegiate coach, helped run major events, and was the vice president of marketing for a women’s professional basketball league. At one point in the early 1980s he sold video games (Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Centipede, and more) to bars, restaurants, and other establishments.

In addition to researching and writing about sport management, Fried enjoys playing badminton, collecting stamps, farming, being with his wife and kids, and traveling.

R.C. Smith III, MAA, MSJ, is an assistant professor of sport management in the department of business and economics and the director of esports at Marietta College. Smith has over 12 years of work in higher education in various roles, including alumni relations, teaching, and collegiate athletics. He has earned two master’s degrees—one from Seton Hall University School of Law in intellectual property and one from the University of the Incarnate Word in sport management—and he earned his bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism from Florida Atlantic University. Smith’s areas of strength are event management, fan engagement, innovation, and revenue generation. Recently, Smith became a software trainer and consultant for sports teams and organizations in the areas of game management and fan engagement.