Moratin helping build AU esports program
By Noah Bowers | Sports writer
The fall 2023 semester at Augusta University has been filled with milestones, both for the university itself and its athletic programs.
The AU volleyball team won the Peach Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships for the first time in the season season in program history and finished in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament. The men’s cross-country team won its fifth straight Peach Belt Conference crown and finished second in the Southeast Regional to eventual national champion Wingate.
The university celebrated passing the 10,000-student enrollment threshold, and the university introduced a brand-new program that blurs the lines between athletics and student engagement—a program that is taking the university by storm and has already achieved success in the few short months it has been around: The AU Esports Program.
It is the product of months of background logistical work by Professor Colin Stewart, AU’s associate vice president of Student Affairs, and the passion of a medical graduate student who has been waiting for an opportunity like this to finally arrive in Augusta. The next iteration of sports competition in the modern age where teams or individuals compete against each other in games that require varying skills and strategies, all within a PC or console.
Esports has been around for years, and major universities have begun to capitalize on its growing popularity, but it wasn’t until one student took it upon himself to spearhead the movement on Augusta University’s campus before it finally made an impact.
It’s time to meet Jordan Moratin, the man behind the screen.
Moratin grew up in Grayson, which is home to roughly 4,700 people. A small town with not much going on, a humble suburban spot just outside of metro-Atlanta. The city-motto reads “Steadfast and True.” There, Moratin would play some of his first video games to help past the time.
“I’ve been playing video games since before I can remember,” said Moratin. “I think my first experience was with my Game Boy Advance, playing games like Hot Wheels, Lego Star Wars and Spongebob. Once I was at AU, video games became a huge way for me to decompress from all the studying I had to do. I also got more interested in watching college esports on Twitch.”
Esports are more than just playing video games. They are the culmination of hours upon hours of practice and training in a specific game title. It’s the direct competition at the highest level to determine a winner, the best of the best at whatever title is being played.
Esports are as much of a sport as anything in the physical world, and Moratin learned quickly that not everyone realized this potential.
“For online games, I’ve always found myself spending extra time practicing to get higher in the ranks,” said Moratin. “I feel that for those kinds of games, you get the most out of your experience by competing at a higher level.”
His extra effort often yields results, leaving him a tier above the average player.
“My friends often introduce me to competitive games but because of my competitive personality, I naturally stack more hours in the games than they do and eventually rank higher,” said Moratin.
In other words, it can be lonely at the top. Moratin didn’t decide to come to AU because of his love for video games though, he came to further the career he had already decided on all the way back in high school. Moratin’s family was very close with his pediatrician growing up, and he discovered that she went to medical school at the Medical College of Georgia here in Augusta. Ever since then, he knew that’s where he wanted to go.
“I am pursuing a career in surgery,” he said. “As a kid, I was always astonished by the science behind medicine, but my fascination deepened during my time at university when engaging in research and performing surgeries on mice blood vessels unveiled my adeptness in maintaining steady hands and practicing patience while tending to a patient.”
Medicine brought him here, but he felt that there was something missing at AU. All the other major universities had already been supporting esports rosters for years by the time Moratin was enrolled, but there was no mention of the possibility of one coming to campus.
“I realized that Augusta University didn't have an esports program that other known schools had, and wondered if it was even possible to start one,” he said. “I knew it was a long-shot, but with baby steps in the right direction we could eventually get to the point where it became a huge program.”
It started in the summer of 2021 with a Discord server that Moratin advertised and managed himself, which grew to more than 70 students within a few hours of its inception (an early sign of things to come). Then, Moratin applied for the university to be a member of the largest collegiate esports organization in the country, the National Association for Collegiate Esports. Once AU became a fully accredited member, the rest was history.
Since then, the small student movement drew the attention of faculty member Stewart who had previous experience in developing the esports program at Fresno State University. Together, Stewart and Moratin were able to secure funding and a space for the esports program to grow from. Their work came to a head at this year’s Grand Opening Event at the Georgia Cyber Center, which drew a crowd of more than 300 people and officially marked the beginning of esports at Augusta University by introducing the rosters for Rocket League and Valorant.
Moratin is currently the captain of the varsity Rocket League team, which finished their inaugural season undefeated and a Peach Belt Conference Championship. The junior varsity Rocket League team finished first place in their division of the NACE Starleague as well. The early success of the program has inspired Moratin more than he could put into words, but his goals are still as clear as ever.
“Above anything else, my biggest desire is taking care of those who are sick or in pain. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities we've been able to have with esports, and there are numerous lessons that I've learned throughout my experience that can relate to medicine as well,” said Moratin. “I absolutely plan to be involved with esports for a very long time... but I will graduate with my master’s degree in May.”
This time next year, the program will be without its founding member as he pursues his dream of practicing medicine. The future, though, has never been brighter. The Discord server now boasts over 250 students and the social media pages garner thousands of views after each nail-biting highlight and win. Students from all walks-of-life and career paths have come together to create one of the fastest growing and active communities on campus in only a little over three months, thanks to the effort and passion that Moratin set in motion.
Perhaps the program should adopt the same motto that inspired Moratin’s hometown, Steadfast and True.
“I'm extremely proud of the management team's work towards the success of the program,” he said. “The establishment of this group was a great idea and the program has definitely been extremely organized now with team management, social media, advertisement, and graphic design. I believe that if we continue with the work ethic and enthusiasm that we have now, our esports program will become one of the best in Georgia.”
Contact Noah Bowers at nbowers@augusta.edu.
Jordan Moratin shows the plaque that he and his teammates earned for winning the Rocket League Peach Belt Championship this semester. (photo by Josh LaFavor, special to the Bell Ringer). At the top of the page, Moratin practices for a match at the AU Esports Arena, located in the Georgia Cyber Center. (photo by Noah Bowers)
