University Students’ Perceptions of Barriers, Institutional Readiness, and Benefits of a Student-Organised Esports Competition: An Event-Based Campus Survey
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/rf5z1b38Keywords:
esports, higher education, event management, institutional support, student engagementAbstract
University esports competitions are increasingly positioned as co-curricular platforms that may strengthen student engagement, transferable skills, and institutional visibility. However, organising esports events can also involve practical barriers such as resourcing, sponsorship continuity, administrative processes, and hybrid online–offline delivery. This study examined students’ perceptions of (a) barriers, (b) institutional readiness/support, and (c) benefits of organising a university esports competition using an event-based cross-sectional survey administered during a one-week student-organised campus esports competition. A total of 535 responses were analysed. Internal consistency was high for perceived barriers (α = .84), institutional readiness/support (α = .95), and perceived benefits (α = .98). Overall agreement was high across barriers (M = 3.84, SD = 0.73), readiness/support (M = 3.81, SD = 0.72), and benefits (M = 3.96, SD = 0.73). The most salient barrier was securing sufficient funding (M = 3.92), while the most strongly endorsed benefit concerned international collaboration and networking (M = 4.26). Gender differences were statistically significant with small effects, and organisers perceived substantially higher benefits than non-organisers. Strong positive correlations were observed among barriers, readiness/support, and benefits. Findings suggest that students may simultaneously recognise operational challenges and endorse esports competitions as beneficial co-curricular ecosystems, highlighting the need for clearer resourcing and hybrid event-management support.
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