She explained that the school’s admissions committee did not feel there was enough data to determine the utility of an eSports program to the university. So it can’t justify offering Marquer a full-time coach position or any form of increased compensation. His $15,000 a year contract will automatically renew in early June and they will attempt to have another conversation about his future in the spring of 2023. Process is over, decided. is final.
Marquer was bewildered, at least because of something he had noticed while driving onto campus that day. The huge electronic sign outside the front entrance reads: “HAPPINESS SPECIAL TEAM. NJCAAE CALL OF DUTY: NATIONAL CHAMPION WARZONE. ”
During the months I spoke with Marquer, he reassured me time and time again that he was confident he would train the Golden Eagles for years to come. He wanted to attach it because of his connection to Wyoming, a place he loved so much, so he got its flower, the Indian paintbrush, tattooed on his left shin. “I know there’s a huge exodus of youth in this state,” Marquer told me over coffee in February. “I want more young people to stay here. I’m so proud of the people here, and I know the gamers are so good especially because it’s so cold. So I just know that I can build it from here.” But the school’s indifference to his devotion and his financial despair eventually became too much to bear. He wanted to be a rock for Wyoming gamers, he couldn’t do it anymore.
When Marquer told his athletes about his impending departure, they were baffled that the school had such little respect for a coach who changed their lives. “I’m a bit shocked they didn’t try and give him some kind of recognition,” said Travis Jones. “But I’m happy for him, because it means he’s getting what he deserves. He deserves to be paid.” The university has said nothing to the team about its plans, and it’s unclear if they’ll hire a new coach in time to recruit new talent for the fall. Without instructions from above, Jones was solely responsible for Vanguard Lineup: He’s lined up a busy summer schedule with practices and tournaments, which he’ll fit into while working as a DoorDash driver and assembling his sixth homebrew computer .
The last time I spoke to Marquer about his plans, he was driving his girlfriend’s band to a gig in Casper. Marquer has also returned to playing on his own, holding guitar and drums respectively in two bands called Dirt Sucker and Stay A Regi. (The latter is named after the catchphrase of a prominent character in a video game of the early 2000s Diablo II.)
Along the way, Marquer told me that, after much deliberation, he was aiming to find another job in high school or college in esports outside of Wyoming. “It was an incredible opportunity to be able to do something that I was fortunate to know about,” he said. He and his girlfriend are getting ready to leave the state, and they’ve talked about starting a family in the not-too-distant future. So he plans to look for a coach position in a place where they can one day afford to buy a home. Based on his initial interest in job boards, there are plenty of opportunities for those willing to move to remote localities: He says he found an open base in the countryside. Wisconsin village, for example, has a starting salary of $5,000 a month. With so many possible paths unfolding ahead of him, Marquer’s future is, for the first time in a long time, more shaped than he could have imagined.
This article appeared in the July/August 2022 issue. Follow now.
Let us know what you think about this article. Send a letter to the editor at mail@wired.com.
