Chinook Student Center Esports Lounge – WSU, Pullman, WA, USA
A university-located lounge offering high-spec PCs and student-led events. Housed within the Chinook Student Center, Washington State University’s esports lounge is a premier campus recreation facility blending competitive rigor with inclusive campus engagement. Established in its current form in the early 2020s, the lounge has expanded into a modern arena supporting varsity esports, casual play, and student-led events under University Recreation & Wellness.
The lounge boasts 36 cutting-edge gaming PCs: 24 rigs powered by Core i7 11700K processors and RTX 3080 GPUs, plus 12 recent machines built around i9 13900 CPUs and RTX 4070 Ti graphics—all paired with 32 GB RAM and high-refresh displays. Console titles are also supported through equipment checkout with esports attendants.
WSU’s Esports & Gaming Club, founded in 2015, operates from this space and fields varsity rosters in Rocket League, Valorant, Overwatch 2, CS:GO, Rainbow Six Siege, and more. The club supports members of all skill levels while cultivating a robust Discord-based campus community exceeding 1,500 members.
Programming includes the annual “Press Start” kickoff event each August, casual LAN nights, themed tournaments like cafés of Mario Kart or Smash, and open drop-in hours. Special events such as “Race to Relax” often feature snack giveaways, giveaways, and community connection.
Open gaming hours typically run daily from noon to about 10 PM, with varsity teams and esports staff managing space for organized practices and club events during evenings. All access requires logging in via the DSE app or campus recreation account and signing required waivers for participants.
Community voices consistently praise the lounge as a vital hub—a safe and welcoming “third space” where students gather, compete, and build friendships. As one Discord-outreach post described: “We have competitive squads … as well as casual gamers too!”.
Gaming at a glance:
📍 700 NE Thatuna St, Pullman, WA 99164 (Chinook Student Center, WSU)
🕒 Check Chinook hours; esports lounge open during normal rec center times
💻 24× i7/RTX3080 PCs + 12× i9/RTX4070TI rigs
🏆 Club-led tournaments, casual play; part of official WSU Esports
💲 Free for WSU students; campus rec membership required
🎯 Perfect for students and college clubs
📞 +1 (509) 335‑8732
📧 urec@wsu.edu
🌐 https://chinook.wsu.edu/esports-lounge/?utm_source=chatgpt.com