As most of us should know, playing video games in college is part of the norm; I remember when I was a freshman walking into the common area of our dorm building seeing kids playing league of legends heavily, and now it’s being played on a national level.
Various games from League of Legends, Call of Duty, NBA 2K, and a host of other games are being played at the pro-level. E-Sports is becoming one of the fastest rising industry in the world, and now colleges around the U.S. are taking notice of its popularity and want in on the action.
Schools like Harvard, Florida State, San Jose State, and Cal have all created E-Sports teams that can compete against each other. More than 9,000 students play in the college league. Some schools even offer athletic scholarships to their gamers.
Starting this Monday I will the first ever Esports Director at Coker College. I am really excited to help start up the esports program and make my return to the collegiate esoprts scene. I will be creating teams in Heartstone, Overwatch, and League. pic.twitter.com/SrAkZnmbBb
— RudyJ (@RudyCasts) January 3, 2018
E-Sports has popped up so quickly that few universities know what to make of it. The college league is not governed by the NCAA yet, so time restrictions and GPA minimums have not yet been considered yet.
Game developers have now started to sponsor some of the collegiate tournaments around the country; offering huge sums of scholarship prizes to the winners of those tournaments. Riot Gaming tournament winners each received about $7,500 in scholarship money from winning their tournament.
We are hiring for multiple positions! Apply here: https://t.co/r4UnRq3Elp #college #esports #career pic.twitter.com/3o7FhmG0rs
— AVGL (@AVGLofficial) January 2, 2018
Some students who play in the collegiate ranks my attempt to go pro, but that is a major risk. Because E-Sports is not as big as the other professional sports, like NFL, NBA, or MLB, the earnings for the lower tear players is not as great as a bench player for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Peach Belt Conference, an NCAA II division athletics conference, will be the first conference to partner with @RiotGames as part of the College League of Legends season:https://t.co/hmiYB8ltKU pic.twitter.com/cIJeNjO3Qh
— ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) January 4, 2018
To prevent players from leaving college early, game developers give out scholarship money instead of cash prizes.
The world of E-sports is just beginning to find itself, but we know for sure which that gaming will always be apart of college.
Lead Picture is from Redbull.com