Nick Hains is currently the longest-standing member of the Texas Wesleyan Esports & Gaming program — something which he says has made a big impact on his college experience. 

Hains first joined the esports team to play FIFA and was part of the team when it brought home its first national championship. His former FIFA team captain and coach, Jacob Williams, had defeated another university two games to none to win the National Association of Collegiate Esports FIFA Xbox national championship. 

“Jacob is an incredible player — but he was even a better teammate,” Hains said. “That was a really special experience getting to do that with Jacob. Jacob is one of my best friends — I still talk to him every day. FIFA is definitely the reason that we are so close.” 

However, when FIFA changed its rules on collegiate esports, many college FIFA teams decided to disband. But that didn’t deter Hains from staying with the Texas Wesleyan esports team. In fact, he remained on the team after getting his undergraduate degree in sports communication, coming back as a content manager for the program while getting his MBA. 

“When I graduated with my undergrad, I decided to stay here. And I think esports had a big say in that,” he said.  

He talked with Eugene Frier, director of esports and gaming, about whether or not he should stay at Texas Wesleyan for his master’s degree. Frier encouraged him to remain at TXWES so he could continue to build his portfolio within esports.  

“Eugene emphasizes career a lot,” he said. “I think one of the biggest things he taught me was organization and how to format things professionally.”  

Texas Wesleyan’s esports program focuses on teaching students about content creation, event planning and community engagement, which Hains believes will help him when he seeks his dream job as a content or social media manager for a sports team. He even wants to get a second master’s degree in communications, hoping to move back home to Michigan after completing his MBA. 

“It’s not easy, but it’s rewarding,” he said. “I'm not a player anymore, but I've still got a lot of experience that I can take to the real world with me.” 

Hains didn’t know about the esports program when originally coming to Texas Wesleyan. He plays with the table tennis team and discovered the esports program after hearing about it from other student-athletes. 

“I just kind of came here one day, I didn't even really know this room existed. But I just kind of came in and introduced myself to Eugene, which was definitely one of the best decisions I made,” he said.  

What made it a great decision? Hains says his love for the program isn’t about the games or content, but rather the friendships he’s made being a part of a team.  

“It’s a very unique space, but I also love how comfortable people feel here,” he said. “You see so many different types of people come here. They just come to hang out or decompress — it’s a pretty cool thing.”  

And while he doesn’t think he will pursue esports as a career, he believes the connections and skills he learned by working as a content manager and being a part of the FIFA team will stay with him throughout his life.  

“I wouldn't be opposed to working in esports — Eugene's talked to me a lot about that,” he said. “I don't know that it will be my career, but certainly a lot of things that I've learned in the esports program I'll take with me every day of my life, for sure.”  

Want to join esports? Learn more about the program or get in touch with Eugene Frier.