This weekend saw the return of the OU Gaming Club’s Back To School event inside the OU Gaming Club Venue, with over 300 attendees from Friday through Sunday. The OU Gaming Club Venue is bigger than ever, and it has even more plans for expansion in the future.
With the inclusion of an MSI sponsorship, this event marks a significant milestone in the development and expansion of OU Gaming. Other new sponsors, such as Guestroom Records and EA Sports, have helped the club with more room to grow in the future.
Anita Ly, the Alumni Advisory Board Chair of OU Esports, helped lead and organize the event.
“Every year, our Back to School event has continued to expand and get more impressive,” Ly said. “This year, we have over five thousand dollars worth of prizes. A lot of it was contributions from sponsors, which is brand new for us.”
The Venue is now open for seven-day operations for OU students, with weekend and event access available to the general public.
Game tournaments, including Mario Kart, Smash Bros., Beat Saber, and Street Fighter 6, took place over the weekend. Several other contests, such as iRacing Time Trials and Call of Duty 1v1s, took place.
The most anticipated event, however, was the series of giveaways culminating with the grand prize of a full turn-key gaming PC and its accessories, courtesy of Computer Connection. The giveaway was made possible thanks to the continued expansion of OU Esports and the inclusion of more sponsors.
Will Goolsby was excited about the Venue’s ability to bring people together.
“I’ve been going around talking to people all day, and there’s all sorts of games to play,” Goolsby said. “I’ve always loved gaming, and the Gaming Club and the Venue is such a cool spot for people with shared interests.”
The OU Gaming Club Discord is also bigger than ever, with over 3,800 members. Each year marks further expansion and offers more opportunities for the club to grow and become more diverse.
Fostering a strong and cohesive community is one of the most important goals of the OU Gaming Club. Both old and new members are excited to see what the new semester has in store.
Chance Gildart, a former ambassador of the OU Gaming Club, was happy to see how the event turned out now that he’s graduated.
“I was trying to build up this community, and now I’m seeing it at work,” Gildart said. “I get to see the work that I’ve done is now being continued by other people.”
The Back to School event was a huge success for the club, but it’s far from the only event to attend.
Weekly gaming events and in-houses will be available for interested students to attend throughout the semester. Additionally, the Sooner Dojo Series will kick off with College Football 2025 tournaments the night before home games, and all events under the series are open to the public.
Stay tuned to OU Esports and OU Gaming Club social media platforms for further updates on upcoming events.
