New Sports Teams Coming to BC
Bluefield College is exploring the idea of adding four new sports programs for students, including an e-sports team, women’s golf, women’s lacrosse, and women’s wrestling.
All of the new sports are in the beginning stages of development, according to BC president Dr. David Olive; however, two of them are further along in the process.
“The e-sports program has already been approved,” Dr. Olive said, “and students are being recruited to be on the team.”
In addition to players on the team, the college has also recruited Chip Lambert to serve as the e-sports coach. Lambert is BC’s chief information officer with an extensive background in information systems and technology. Dr. Olive added that the purpose of the new athletic programs is to appeal to more student interests, especially with the e-sports team.
“We believe this new program will connect well with an interest many of our students already have and provide them with a competitive environment,” the president said. “While e-gaming has been part of our culture for some time, e-sports at the collegiate level is relatively new.”
Lambert said the e-sports team will be competing in a variety of games, including “Overwatch,” “Hearthstone,” “Smite,” “Rocket League,” and “League of Legends.”
“I think the e-sports team brings a very fresh and different style of athletics to our Bluefield community,” said BC sophomore Dustin Barker, “and I believe a lot of students will find it exciting and appealing.”
Other students shared the same excitement about the addition of e-sports to BC’s athletic offerings.
“I think it would be great,” said Jaylon Grant. “Believe it or not, I think it would bring lots of money and competition to the school, as well as something a lot of people could get into.”
Dr. Olive said women’s golf is being “actively explored” and could be the next new BC sports, and while the other athletic options are being considered, no definitive timelines have been established for women’s lacrosse and women’s wrestling.
“Should the college form a women’s golf team, there is an individual in the community who has expressed interest in serving as the team’s coach,” Dr. Olive said. No formal searches have been conducted for coaches for women’s lacrosse or women’s wrestling.
“I (think) it’s awesome how Bluefield is trying to establish athletic programs to obtain more female athletes,” said senior Whitley Phipps about the college’s interest in adding the new women’s sports. “A lot of schools have limited women’s sports teams. As a female athlete at Bluefield, I would love the idea of having more females on campus.”
While most shared excitement about the addition of new sports programs, some shared a few reservations.
“I feel like it’s a good idea to have different types of sports for girls on campus,” said student Taylor Southerland. “However, I think that the college needs to worry about improving the quality of the sports they have now rather than adding on more sports with a limited amount of space.”