In an increasingly competitive higher education marketplace, institutions are seeking innovative strategies to grow or maintain their existing student populations. As student interests shift over time, institutions must stay informed of the rise and decline of various sporting activities and the impact those activities have on the student body. As more institutions look to utilize esports as a tool for recruiting and retaining students, the purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological exploratory study was to better understand collegiate esports participation and its perceived effects on student experience. This study had 11 participants who were active undergraduate members of institutionally recognized collegiate esports programs in the United States. Qualitative data were obtained through individual semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis was conducted to generate five themes to describe the phenomenon. Participants described positive aspects of esports participation such as student development benefits, strong bonds with teammates, and a welcoming and inclusive esports environment. However, participants also perceived limited follow-through in institutional support for esports and an overall lack of understanding of, and respect for, collegiate esports within the greater campus community. Collegiate esports appears to be a viable sport activity that can be used to help diversify university programming and extracurricular activities. The experiences of participants indicate that esports shows promise at increasing student involvement and improving student socialization and well-being. These benefits can positively affect the student experience the same as more traditional intercollegiate, club, intramural, or recreational sports programs have done previously. This study may help college administrators in assessing the feasibility of integrating esports programs into their campuses. Additionally, it may serve as a foundation for future research into the potential advantages of collegiate esports participation. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]