OU Eats and the Oakland University Varsity Esports team partnered recently for a series of events that have taken place in the Pioneer Food Court, titled “Level Up Your Lunch.” These events involve members of the OU Esports team, student gamers, Nintendo Switch games and most importantly: free food.
“Level Up Your Lunch” featured two events on April 1 and April 7, where students could challenge a member of the Varsity Esports team to a match of Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but the game would depend on what day they were there.
The OU Varsity Esports program, which has been steadily growing since its inception in 2019, features teams competing in League of Legends, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Overwatch 2 and Rocket League.
Greg Richards, who is the Director Of Marketing for Eastern Michigan University’s Chartwells program, helped plan this event for OU Eats.
“The ‘Level Up Your Lunch’ series was actually inspired by a TikToker we saw who would challenge people to beat him in a game, and if they won, he’d buy their lunch,” Richards said. “We thought it was a fun and engaging concept, so we teamed up with the Varsity Esports team to create our own version. It was a great way to showcase their talent while also highlighting lunch offerings in the Oakland Center.”
Several students lined up for both days of the event and many won a free, $12 lunch voucher for the Pioneer Food Court.
One of the Esport athletes that the students could challenge was Matthew Jurj — more commonly known in the GrizzDen as “Jax.” Jurj is the captain of the Overwatch 2 team and is a graduate student.
“I feel like not a whole lot of students — that don’t go down into the GrizzDen – really know that we have an Esports team,” Jurj said. “Getting our information out there is definitely important.”
A few of the assistant coaches, like Kalle “Ori” Wanagat, and the head coach of OU Varsity Esports, Carl Leone, were present at the events as well.
“This is also to bring awareness to the Esports program to the general student body,” Wanagat said. “There’s a reason why you see that wall go up, down in the GrizzDen at night, it’s not just because its being blocked off, its because the Esports team is there practicing — and if you are interested in learning more about the program you now know where to look.”
The events brought awareness to not only the OU Esports teams, but to OU Eats and their recent outreach campaigns. OU Eats has been recently hosting a myriad of different events to bring more OU Eats awareness — and food — to the student body.
“The turnout and energy at both events were awesome, and we’re excited to continue this collaboration into the fall,” Richards said in a written statement to The Oakland Post. “It’s just one of many ways we hope to use dining as a platform to support and celebrate student life at OU.”
For more information about OU Eats, follow their Facebook and Instagram.
OU Varsity Esports’ home page can be found at goldengrizzlies.com/sports/esports. They can also be found on X and Twitch.
