WASHINGTON — School officials widely expressed optimism about the prospect of a high school esports team, despite several questions about the logistics of such a newly conceived extracurricular activity.

At a Washington school board meeting Wednesday night, District Activities Director Nathan Miller said a poll of high school students and incoming freshman showed 33 kids interested in joining such a team next year.

Of those, he said the “vast majority” were not involved in any of the school’s other activity rosters. That makes it an ideal way to get kids involved who might otherwise not make such connections.

“One of the main goals that I’m looking at, as activities director, is how do we engage more kids within our school,” Miller said. “This is an opportunity where we could engage kids in something else we don’t currently have, that may meet a clientele that would love to be part of a group or activity.”

The competitive video game scene is a somewhat new concept, as far as school activities go, but those involved say it’s growing fast. Much like with traditional sports, students would try out for the team, compete in divisions based on experience, and seek to bring home trophies for their school at tournaments.

Also like other school activities, members would need to maintain passing grades to compete, and come to class in order to attend practice. Washington would be the fourth school in its conference to establish an esports roster.

Competitions are not only a source of entertainment for viewers. Schools say they’re a wellspring of scholarships and academic achievement for students.

Fairfield senior Carter Stutzman made headlines in April, when he signed on to Northwestern College’s Rocket League Team, where he’ll play the viral “vehicular soccer” game. And in November, New London’s esports team qualified for states, where they played Nintendo-produced fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the mythology-inspired arena title SMITE.

“I actually sat in on an esports presentation … and there’s more scholarship money available in colleges than they can give out right now,” Miller said. “This is something that could not only impact our kids now, with a connection to school, it could provide avenues and opportunities after high school.”

The activity is sanctioned by the Iowa High School Esports Association. Miller said Washington would start competing in Super Smash Bros. in the fall, and Mario Kart in the spring, but not participate in other events or in the winter season, at least at first.

Instead, he said the school would stick to online tournaments in its first year, rather than traveling to distant venues. Startup costs would include four Nintendo Switch consoles, high-end controllers, subscriptions to Nintendo Switch Online — a service required to access multiplayer features in the games — and paid coaching positions in the fall and spring.

The activities director said the team would likely raise funds through events and local business sponsorships.

“There are events, eventually, that we could travel to,” Miller said. “There is actually a kid in our high school who is one of the top 10 or 15 players in our country for Fortnite … but we’re not going to go to these big tournaments if we’re just going to get stomped on at first. That’s why we want to start small.”

More out of curiosity than skepticism, school board members had several questions for Miller about the activity. Things like, “what does an esports practice look like,” and “how is it coached?”

With a vote on the proposed program expected next month, Board President Troy Suchan said he was excited about its prospects

“It’s another way to get another subgroup involved, same as when we started archery,” he said. “It’s getting people involved, making them feel like they’re part of the school.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com

With USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington set to join the Big Ten, we’re exploring what each of these additions means to the Big Ten men’s basketball landscape. How do their fans feel about their head coach? Who has joined and left the program this offseason? Where are they projected to rank in the conference?

Next up: the Washington Huskies

Washington will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2023-24 season in which it went 17-15 and missed the NCAA Tournament.

Following Lorenzo Romar’s successes from 2002-17, the program turned to Mike Hopkins. Hopkins won Pac-12 Coach of the Year his first two seasons while also winning the conference regular season title in 2018-19. But that would be the peak of the Hopkins era, as the Huskies only advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament that year and never made the tournament again in his tenure.

The university let Hopkins go before quickly identifying Danny Sprinkle as their next head coach. Sprinkle comes to Washington after just one — albeit very successful — year at Utah State. Prior to that, he was at Montana State for four seasons and took them to the NCAA Tournament twice.

Last season’s Huskies were led by a pair of former Kentucky Wildcats in forward Keion Brooks Jr. (21.1 points per game) and guard Sahvir Wheeler (14.3 ppg). They had two other scorers who averaged double-digits in forward Moses Wood (11.9) and guard Koren Johnson (11.1). The Huskies also had a pair of former Big Ten players in the rotation in guard Paul Mulcahy (Rutgers) and forward Wilhelm Breidenbach (Nebraska). Centers Franck Kepnang and Braxton Meah, along with guards Nate Calmese and Anthony Holland, rounded out the rotation.

Predictably due to the coaching change, Washington’s roster is undergoing a massive overhaul. Five Huskies ran out of eligibility, while Johnson (Louisville) and Meah (Nebraska) left for greener pastures via the portal. Yates and Calmese also entered the portal but have yet to find a new home. For those keeping track at home, that’s all four of their top scorers and eight of the 10 members of the rotation that will not be returning. Only Breidenbach (5.3 ppg) and Kepnang (8.3 ppg) are expected to return.

To replace essentially the entire roster, Sprinkle brought in a transfer portal class of seven players that is currently ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 8 nationally, according to 247Sports. Headlining the class is center Great Osobor, who is following Sprinkle from Utah State to Washington. The No. 7 ranked transfer in the country this offseason, Osobor made the news recently as the highest paid transfer of all time (that we know of) as he is set to earn more than $2 million in NIL, according to ESPN.

In addition to Osobor, Sprinkle brought in highly touted guards Mekhi Mason (Rice) and D.J. Davis (Butler), and forward Tyler Harris (Portland). Mason is No. 87 on 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings, while Davis is No. 104.

Rounding out the class are unranked transfers, Chris Conway (Oakland), KC Ibekwe (Oregon State), and Luis Kortright (Rhode Island).

Washington’s incoming freshmen class is another reason for excitement. The Huskies brought in two four-star guards in Zoom Diallo and Jase Butler. Both are in the top-100 of high school prospects, with Diallo bordering on five-star status. Both are expected to be instant contributors. The class ranked No. 34 nationally and No. 6 in the Big Ten.

It’s tough to know what to project for this upcoming season’s Washington Huskies, given they return just 7.8 percent of their total minutes from a season ago. Only USC returns less minutes from last year in the new Big Ten.

Torvik currently projects Washington to go 19-12 and be the No. 52 team in the country. This would place the Huskies 14th in the Big Ten, just ahead of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Osobor certainly provides some excitement, along with the incoming freshmen guards, but the depth likely won’t be there this season.

Historically, Washington has not been a top-tier men’s basketball program. The Huskies have never won a National Championship and have made just one Final Four (1953). Their last Sweet Sixteen was in 2010.

Notable alumni of the program include Brandon Roy, Isaiah Thomas, Matisse Thybulle, Detlef Schrempf, and Dejounte Murray.

Washington is certainly in for a rude awakening in the Big Ten this year. However, Sprinkle has the ball rolling with a little momentum right now. Whether he’s able to continue that momentum will determine their early success or failure.