Bison Esports Faces Their Second Season

BHS Esports is back for its second season ever this winter. Last year, the team made it to the State competition in their debut year. They hope to succeed in competitions again this year and create a bigger and more positive presence in Buffalo. So far, the team has been faced with stereotypes and negative opinions about gaming and struggles with finding sufficient funds for competing. The Esports advisor, Business Teacher Dwight Monson, keeps the team enthusiastic against these obstacles.

BHS is the third school where Monson has founded an Esports team. He started the team because he felt that BHS didn’t offer any extracurricular activities for students who weren’t interested in arts or athletics.

“I think there’s a group of students that don’t have a place to fit in most traditional activities,” Monson said. “I wanted to provide something that fits their interests, where they could be part of a community. I’m pretty good friends with people who run the Minnesota organization, the league that we play through. So, I reached out to them, and I talked with Mr. Guida about how we can advertise this and we found some students that were interested right away to help me get the word out.

Since the activity was only formed last year, there isn’t much funding provided to the Esports team. Monson and the team have had to do fundraising and rely on donated money.

“This year, the school helped us pay our registration fee, but we don’t have funding for computers or any of those types of things,” Monson said. “Last year, we asked community members for support and we had a local business that donated money. I think we don’t have funding because it’s so new. There’s a lot of people that don’t know what it is, and there’s a lot of people in the community and certain teachers that have stereotypes about what it is. People have difficulty valuing it because they don’t understand it.”

Along with a lack of funding, Esports was met with skepticism and a lack of support from the community.

“Esports isn’t that popular,” Joseph Shroeder ‘25 said. “People are like, ‘Video games? That’s kind of lame. I think it will be a little bit better now because [it’s becoming] more recognized. We went to state last year, so it’s like ‘Oh, they’re pretty good’.”

Monson continues to support the team despite any judgment or disrespect, as they work to establish a positive reputation in the community and improve as a team. The biggest goal right now for Esports is getting a computer lab so that Buffalo can host meets.

“The biggest thing we’re trying to do is get computers here and have a kind of Esports lab, where students can compete here,” Monson said. “We could host events for local area schools that also have teams, and people in the community could come in and see Esports for themselves, so they can physically see what it looks like.”

BHS Esports offers two levels of intensity. At the Varsity level, the team is more structured, goes to competitions, and has a registration fee of $100. If players prefer something more casual but still want to be involved, there is a free-to-join and non-competing team as well.

If you’re interested in Esports or want to know more, reach out to Advisor Dwight Monson or Advisor Austin Willey. The Esports pre-season will begin after Fall Break.