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Conversely, universities also worked to provide students remote access to resources, and many components of esports already occur online. Therefore, collegiate esports may have adjusted to distancing measures, potentially strengthening their footholds on US campuses. This paper draws on in-depth interviews with collegiate esports players, student employees, program directors, and administrators to address different programs\u2019 reactions to the pandemic, specifically the challenges and opportunities they faced. Overall, interviews reveal how COVID-19 shifted the understandings of and practices around gaming and esports, highlighted the intermittent relationship of online and offline spheres, and presented various possibilities and challenges for different stakeholders during the global pandemic.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/15554120221088116","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,26]],"date-time":"2022-04-26T15:58:21Z","timestamp":1650988701000},"page":"229-250","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["The COVID Season: U.S. Collegiate Esports Programs\u2019 Material Challenges and Opportunities During the 2020\u201321 Pandemic"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7553-6641","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amanda C.","family":"Cote","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA"}]},{"given":"Onder","family":"Can","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6499-4372","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maxwell","family":"Foxman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA"}]},{"given":"Brandon C.","family":"Harris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA"}]},{"given":"Jared","family":"Hansen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA"}]},{"given":"Md Waseq Ur","family":"Rahman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA"}]},{"given":"Tara","family":"Fickle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of English, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-15554120221088116","unstructured":"Australian Collegiate Esports. 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