Ball State University equipped its 3,611-square-foot Esports Center with 36 high-end gaming PCs from Corsair, featuring AMD Ryzen 7 processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards. Announced on October 28, 2026, the upgrade pairs competitive hardware with creative software like Maya and Unreal Engine to support both varsity teams and coursework.
Ball State’s Rocket League squad secured a national title from the National Association of Collegiate Esports in 2026, while the Valorant team captured an Esports Collegiate Conference championship and the League of Legends team placed second. The equipment arrival brings a hardware overhaul to the university facility on the heels of those major tournament wins.
University leaders designed the room to double as an academic lab for media production, animation, and game development.
Hardware Powers Dual-Use Software
Every single one of the 36 desktop installations pairs an AMD Ryzen 7 processor with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, 64 GB of RAM, and a 320 Hz display. Every station also includes fresh keyboards, mice, and headsets, alongside 40 premium gaming chairs distributed throughout the venue.
A 320 Hz display slashes frame times for fast-paced competitive titles, whereas 64 GB of memory caters to heavy creative workloads that consume resources quickly when rendering 3D scenes or running real-time engine projects.
Outside of regular practice hours, an arena machine sitting idle is capable of supporting a broadcast session, a render queue, or a class lab. The upgraded center supports applications including the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, Blender, Maya, and Unreal Engine.
- Blender and Maya for 3D modeling, rigging, and animation work.
- Unreal Engine for real-time game development and interactive environments.
- Adobe Creative Cloud for video editing, design, and digital media production.
New Gear Equips Students for Academic and Competitive Careers
Dr. Kristen McCauliff highlighted how the new gear transforms the environment into a versatile academic and competitive venue, giving students access to technology used across areas such as media production, animation, and game development.
This technology upgrade provided through Corsair allows our Esports Center to meet the needs of students in competition as well as in the classroom.
McCauliff
McCauliff further remarked that whether students utilize the facility for high-level competitive play or arrive to work on a classroom assignment, this technology equips them for successful futures in animation, live event production, media, and similar sectors. Dan Marino, director of Esports, pointed to immediate gains in daily engagement and event turnout, noting that the space now offers the speed and power required to perform at the highest levels.
The students have been thrilled with the new equipment, and we’ve seen a substantial increase in student participation in our weekly events.
Dan Marino, director of Esports
Esports Center Layout Attracts Record Student Turnout
The equipment resides inside a 3,611-square-foot Esports Center that originally opened in April 2021. The layout features an elevated 6-vs.-6 gameplay platform, stadium seating for 50 spectators, a 24-seat interactive classroom lounge, and a control room built for live multicamera and gameplay streaming.
Throughout the current semester, the Esports Center has reached full capacity with students every day it has been open, leading Ball State’s Esports program to project that turnout for the 2026-27 academic year will surpass any seen since its founding season. The venue is additionally utilized by Ball State to coordinate and host esports competitions involving the campus community, high schools, as well as fellow colleges and universities.