California Lutheran University will open what it calls the largest collegiate gaming center in the state when its new esports facility debuts Oct. 16 in Thousand Oaks.

The center, housed in a remodeled Nygreen Hall on the Cal Lutheran campus, will anchor the university's esports program. Esports becomes Cal Lutheran's 25th athletic team for the 2026-27 school year, The Echo, the campus newspaper, reported Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The opening is scheduled during Cal Lutheran's homecoming weekend. Tryouts for the program are planned for October and November.

Adam Lopez, the program's director of esports, previously served as esports coordinator at Irvine Valley College and as a collegiate esports athlete and coach at California State University, Long Beach, according to The Echo.

Cal Lutheran plans to field one varsity, one academy and one women's team for each game title, according to the university's Discord server as cited by The Echo. The specific games have not been announced publicly.

The program is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports, according to the Cal Lutheran esports page.

Beyond competitive play, the university plans to use the gaming center as a community hub. An athletics department brochure published Aug. 27 lists planned programming including intramural tournaments, open play sessions, social gaming events, guest speakers and tournaments for local high schools and colleges.

That outreach would bring Conejo Valley high school students onto the Cal Lutheran campus for organized esports competition.

Howard Davis, who retired as Cal Lutheran's athletic director after the 2025-26 school year, pointed to the program's long-term significance in a statement to The Echo published Tuesday, Sept. 15. "The addition of women's flag football and esports will resonate at CLU for decades to come," Davis said.

Elizabeth Brooks was named interim associate vice president and director of athletics in July 2026. Brooks has been with Cal Lutheran's athletics department since 2019, starting as an administrative assistant before being promoted to operations coordinator and budget analyst in 2021, according to the CLU Sports website. She now oversees the department as the esports launch approaches.

The university has not announced a public event schedule or registration details for the opening.