Wayne鈥檚 World
Dad Joins His Children at U of I Where They Play Together on the Esports Team
Wayne Ebenroth interpreted 鈥淰andal Family鈥� literally.
Ebenroth will complete his accounting degree at 果冻传媒麻豆社 in Spring 23, graduating a year after his oldest daughter and a few years before his two youngest children.
He did have to ask permission from his children to tag along on their college experience.
鈥淚鈥檓 thankful I have the kind of relationship with my kids that when I said, 鈥楬ey, can I go to school with you?鈥� they say, 鈥榊eah, sure. Sounds fun,鈥欌�� Ebenroth said. 鈥淣ot every parent is lucky enough to have that type of relationship.鈥�
Unfinished Business
I鈥檓 thankful I have the kind of relationship with my kids that when I said, 鈥楬ey, can I go to school with you?鈥� they say, 鈥榊eah, sure. Sounds fun.鈥�
— Wayne Ebenroth, accounting senior
In 2019, Ebenroth鈥檚 two oldest children were planning to follow their friends north and transfer from the College of Western Idaho to U of I. Ebenroth, on the other hand, was in the middle of applying for project management jobs. Despite having seven years of work experience in the field, he couldn鈥檛 land an interview.
鈥淭his return to school is me dealing with unfinished business,鈥� Ebenroth said. 鈥淚t bothered me for a long time that I鈥檇 never finished college. Career-wise, I was running into roadblocks. An opportunity presented itself to follow my kids to college, and it seemed like the right time to check that box.鈥�
When Ebenroth arrived at U of I from Boise, he moved in with his son Wayne Ebenroth Jr. and daughter Becca Ebenroth 鈥�22, who now works at SEL as a web designer specializing in user experience design.
鈥淚t was awesome because we needed another roommate anyways. I thought it was kind of fun,鈥� said Becca, who majored in studio art design. 鈥淚 was really excited for him because he tried to go back to college off and on over the years. Getting his degree is something he always wanted to do.鈥�
Ebenroth鈥檚 fourth child, River Ebenroth, is also on campus as a freshman art student, and his youngest, Elliot Ebenroth, started at U of I in Spring 2023 in computer science.
鈥淎 typical 18-year-old would be like, 鈥楢h, that鈥檚 lame,鈥� but it鈥檚 been really fun,鈥� Becca said. 鈥淢ost of my siblings have colored hair so he let me dye his hair green for a while. One of my senior studio classmates ran into him and she knew immediately that he was my dad because he had green hair. Then, I鈥檇 bring him to my Dungeons and Dragons game every week and all my friends love him and think he鈥檚 so cool.鈥�
Upon graduating, Ebenroth plans to begin work on his master鈥檚 in accounting at U of I and pursue a career in tax planning and preparation, giving him the opportunity to stay near his children while they finish school.
New Game+
Ebenroth wasn鈥檛 satisfied simply getting his degree at age 48. He wanted the college experience.
In Fall 2021, U of I started its first competitive esports team, where multiple players compete in video games in front of an audience. Ebenroth, who grew up gaming, wanted in.
He previously competed locally in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, a one-on-one character fighting game by Nintendo. But the coronavirus pandemic taught Ebenroth that he really appreciated gaming in person. So, in 2022, he started a second esports team for Smash Bros. By Thanksgiving, the squad was getting into its groove competing nationally against other university teams.
鈥淲e are to the point that we are scouting the opponent to come up with a strategy for who would make the best matchups,鈥� Ebenroth said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e shifted from 鈥楬ow do we do this?鈥� to 鈥楬ow do we win?鈥欌��
Prior to coming to U of I, his knowledge of the video game industry waned as adult responsibilities took over. But Becca schooled him on the furiously growing industry. She wrote a paper for a college English class detailing why esports should be in the Olympics.
鈥淚t was the silliest thing I鈥檇 ever heard. You couldn鈥檛 put video games in the Olympics,鈥� Ebenroth said. 鈥淎nd then I read her paper. She had plenty of information where I was like, 鈥楢ll right, this actually makes sense鈥�.鈥�
His interest reignited, Ebenroth jumped back into the gaming world.
Now he plays Yoshi, King K. Rool or Banjo and Kazooie against rival schools. He has even had Wayne Jr. and Elliot joining his Smash Bros. team, and the other children stop by as well.
鈥淚 enjoy watching the team play, but when I鈥檓 seeing one of my kids play, it鈥檚 fun to understand how they have matured as a gamer and person,鈥� Ebenroth said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 way more personal to me than watching another student play.鈥�
One of Ebenroth鈥檚 previous jobs was running an event company, and he will apply those skills to hosting a Northwest College championship Smash Bros. tournament Saturday, April 29. He hopes to convince roughly a dozen regional colleges to join WSU and U of I for the non-league tournament.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been fun meeting all these young people who are changing the world. They鈥檙e bright kids. They鈥檙e the future,鈥� Ebenroth said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been surprised by how easy it was to fit in and how often I鈥檓 inspired by the students I meet.鈥�
Article by Leigh Cooper, University Communications and Marketing.
Photos by Leigh Cooper, University Communications, and Garrett Britton, University Visual Production.
Published in March 2023.