The College of Communication Arts and Sciences is pleased to welcome Christopher Bilski as the inaugural director of esports at Michigan State University. Bilski will be responsible for managing an ever-expanding portfolio of gamers and student organizations — including at least a dozen clubs, with a combined 500+ active members — and engaging external audiences.
Esports — short for electronic sports — is a rapidly growing industry centered around organized professional or semi-professional competitive video game play. For Michigan State, it is an opportunity to expand multiple aspects of academic life, student success, engagement and community building. MSU is one of the top schools for game design in North America, earning the No. 6 spot for its undergraduate program and No. 12 for its graduate program in the Princeton Review’s list of Top Game Design Schools for 2022.
Bilski comes to MSU from Grand Valley State University, where he has served as the university’s esports coordinator since 2021. Bilski has been professionally involved in esports since 2016, with time at both Muskingum University and Aquinas College prior to his tenure at GVSU. His first day as a Spartan will be August 1.
Game on.
In less than one year, Bilski successfully transformed GVSU from a university that began with a single student-led Esports Club — to one with a dedicated esports space and a plan for competitive teams. He is excited about translating that knowledge to the programs at ComArtSci.
“I am looking forward to collaborating across campus to continue building a successful esports program at Michigan State, one that is open to all and engages students with an inclusive environment and intentional programming," said Bilski.
Reporting to the dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Bilski will have connections to the new undergraduate game design major in the Department of Media and Information.
“We are thrilled that Chris has chosen to become a Spartan and will help us unleash the potential of esports at MSU,” said Dean Prabu David.
Ryan Thompson, instructor in the department of media and information, served as interim director of esports while this position was being formalized. ComArtSci would like to thank Thompson, and the students and advisors of the Esports Clubs Association, for their leadership in this space, which has been the driving force behind esports at MSU.