The Maroon Tiger Gaming (MTG) Esports Team Opens first-ever Gaming lab

Recently, Maroon Tiger Gaming opened its first-ever gaming lab in Archer Hall on Morehouse College's campus. Powered by Intel, the lab has an assortment of PCs, next-gen gaming consoles, and VR headsets. Maroon Tiger Gaming is the institution's first and only student-led esports and gaming organization on campus, with over 250 members. Gaming became mainstream during the height of the pandemic because of the lack of social gatherings and COVID-19 mitigation. Students affected by the pandemic lost the heart of attending Morehouse — access to a second home.

Maroon Tiger Gaming was founded in 2020 during quarantine by Ezra Jenkins '25 and Kaleb Howard '24. These two students built upon the groundwork laid by Asante Gadson and Hatim Mansori. Many students were deprived of their second home in Morehouse and lacked the social outlets and community that Morehouse provided. Gaming became a prominent outlet due to people being confined to their homes. They then recruited Professor Mikki Harris and Dr. Muhsinah Morris as advisors, as well as Justin Wynn and Taj Allamby, to help manage the growing popularity of this organization. Soon, Cxmmunity Media held one of the first HBCU Call of Duty tournaments. Maroon Tiger Gaming then launched into a competitive esports organization, having an average placing of 2.8 across all titles competed in respective leagues/tournaments.

That single tournament changed their lives and solidified their dedication to esports and gaming. The opportunity, recognition, and rivalry presented to them struck their hearts and made them want to share that experience with other students at Morehouse. Since then, their organization has massed ~250 members and seven competitive teams, with over $250k in earnings going directly to students. To date, MTG has produced members who have worked in industry franchises like Riot Games, MSI, Ghost Gaming, and Mountain Dew. "We're proud to support Morehouse College and Maroon Tiger Gaming with hardware that will enable them to continue their competitive success. 

"We're excited to partner with them to grow the number of diverse gamers, eSports athletes, and technology professionals from historically Black colleges and universities," said Dr. Corey Frazier, Senior Manager of Segment Outreach at Intel."

The Maroon Tiger Gaming Lab was made possible by generous donations from Javarro Edwards, President of the Morehouse Alumni Association and Morehouse class of '92. Dr. Corey Fraizer, Senior Manager, Segment Outreach, Intel. Rod Chappell - CEO - HBCU Direct Gaming, Morehouse class of '91.