Davenport University Director addresses allegations of mismanagement

Earlier today, Dust2.us released a report following a collaboration of statements from over 15 different former members of Davenport University’s CS:GO roster. In those statements, students highlighted their own experiences and aired grievances against the university. There was a slate of allegations made by the former members, which at the time of publication, Director of Esports Colin Graham had not made a response about after multiple attempts to contact him by the publication.

Following the release of Dust2.us’ article about Davenport, Director Graham reached out to clarify the highlighted complaints sent the way of him and his program, noting that following the release, he would be able to better understand the context.

Sorry for not getting back to you in a timely manner. Obviously, the article dropped so now that I have an idea of what was said I can give some specifics and clarification on a few key points that might have gotten lost in translation: I am the Head Coach. Director is common use in collegiate esports due to the nature of the job, but my official title within the university is Head Coach.

Going down the checklist, Graham made note of the program’s transparency regarding the cost of admission in their pitch:

All students are given a cost of attendance estimate by admissions prior to attending the university. We are a private university and that means by default we are expensive. We are one of the cheaper private universities I have encountered, but still private.

Regarding the proposal that professional players and community members would be involved or participate within the program, Director Graham made note this was out of his scope of work:

[The] idea was mentioned and there were plans to do so. This would have all been coordinated by koi in this situation.

A similar frustration was shared between talent about another key component of the pitch; the European bootcamp. Graham shed light on his opinions on the matter and his willingness to host such an event, with some key notes included:

The intention for anything like this is that I will never say no. I would say in return, "Fundraise it and we can make it happen." A European bootcamp is an expensive expenditure and I am all about giving students a positive experience. But the budget of any esports program in collegiate can only stretch so far without fundraising.

On the odd topic of a non-student being denied academic entry and an active player and student housing and transporting them, specifically noting he had no role in the recruitment and did not force anything onto the players:

[I] Was unaware of this situation until it had already happened. Koi was the primary recruiter for CSGO and was informed that the student would be cleared to attend in March in the 2nd half of the semester. Clearly, it was not the case, so a non-DU attending player was being housed by another player. I, at no point, told him he must house this player.

Regarding the frustration of resource allocation by the former talents, Director Graham offered some insight into the school’s best practices:

As we are a university, increases in recourses come on a year-to-year basis. This includes potential increases in scholarships and coaching.

With mental health being a notable topic in the article, Director Graham was clear on his work practice and offered a personal statement on any frustrations former students had:

When players would approach me about struggles I would direct them to appropriate resources available on campus. I apologize if any student feels I failed them in this fashion and know that I would never take mental health issues lightly.

Director Graham came in defense of the greater conversation of pulling resources from the division, noting this was a topic discussed with those above him:

This was later clarified with my administration and more of a need to establish better timelines for events. There are resources for CS:GO to travel and compete at different events as there are limited to no collegiate in-person events for this title at this time.

Overall there appears to have a serious break in communications between Graham and his lineups, leading to a wide array of disagreements, alleged broken promises, and overall a program that will need to rebuilt from the ground up.