Remember when your parents told you playing all those video games were not going to help you get into college? Well, the times have changed and the table has been flipped the other way. The University of California, Irvine is set to hand out the first scholarships of its kind to worthy League of Legends players.
For those unfamiliar with League of Legends, it’s a computer game that has become quite the popular title in the evolving world of e-sports. It’s possible you have even seen it broadcast on ESPN, if not Twitch. It’s a pretty big deal in the esports community, and now it is going to lead to some free college educations. What a world.
A total of 10 scholarships will be offered by the university, each good for a four-year education.
“UCI eSports will be built on four pillars: competition, academics, entertainment and community,” said Thomas Parham, vice chancellor for student affairs. “We hope to attract the best gamers from around the world, and our academic programs in computer gaming science, digital arts, computer science, engineering, anthropology, law, medicine, neuroscience and behavior create a strong foundation for research and inquiry related to gaming.”
The esports genre is growing, and it may not be wise to underestimate its rising popularity. It has gotten to the point where the architects designing and renovating many fo our traditional sports arenas are keeping tabs on the environment surrounding esports and are proactively planning and strategizing how to accommodate it in the future with venues designed specifically for esports. Having seen some of those ideas laid out in recent months, it really is quite fascinating.
Don’t expect League of Legends to become an NCAA sport or anything like that though, not any time soon at least. UCI is on the verge of entering new territory while their esports student-athletes will be competing against student club players from other schools, just as they always have. The Final Four for the League of Legends Campus Series is scheduled for April 23-24 in Boston with Robert Morris, University of British Columbia, University of Maryland and Georgia Tech competing (no, there are no Big Ten or ACC affiliations here… yet).
