|
Bisutopia19033 Posts
Robert Morris University will offer about 30 athletic scholarships to students who play the 'League of Legends' video game
From the articke
After a little research and the blessing of the university's administration, that's about to change. Robert Morris this fall evidently will be the first school in the country to offer athletic scholarships to students who play the video game "League of Legends." It's a move that seems to stretch the definition of sports and athletes.
"It's a team sport," Melcher said. "There's strategy involved. You have to know your role in the game. Obviously it's not cardiovascular in any way, but it's mental. There are elements that go into it that are just like any other sport.""
"I don't care if it's chess club or ice fishing," Viollt said. "We want these kids to be engaged in something they love." source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-video-game-scholarship-20140623,0,4334654.story
While this is only for League players only it's nothing to get offended by. The game is doing really well right now and honestly it's a huge step forward. To quote the article
Competitive "League of Legends" has sprung up at the high school and college levels as well. Collegiate Starleague, which runs national championships in three games — "StarCraft II" and "Dota 2" are the others — has gone from about 20 schools at its start in 2009 to 550 schools today. The administration is clearly aware that professional gaming is more then just one game. That being said, I believe being very supportive of the game you love and submersing yourself in the culture like we do on Teamliquid will lead to an even better future for competitive gaming.
|
Canada16217 Posts
|
Sweet! I couldn't care less about LoL myself but as you said, this is a great step forward for recognition of esports as a whole.
Edit: Oh man the comments in that article are so silly "This will encourage my son to study less!" yeah... just like athletic scholarships.... oh wait, you have to maintain a GPA to maintain your scholarship.
|
FREEAGLELAND26780 Posts
One hundred percent agreed with imJealous. I do hope though that the uni promotes healthy gaming lifestyles, ie stretching, physical exercise, good sleep schedules, etc. It's one thing to further Esports, and another to pay kids to ruin their wrists, sleep poorly, exercise infrequently, and miss classes!
|
Very cool. I wonder if this will invigorate the college scene and make it more competitive and serious.
|
Bisutopia19033 Posts
On June 26 2014 01:43 flamewheel wrote: One hundred percent agreed with imJealous. I do hope though that the uni promotes healthy gaming lifestyles, ie stretching, physical exercise, good sleep schedules, etc. It's one thing to further Esports, and another to pay kids to ruin their wrists, sleep poorly, exercise infrequently, and miss classes! I agree the school has to be active in making sure the scholars are also role models for the industry.
|
|
I didn't think I would see this happen any time soon, but clearly I was wrong. While esports isn't taking off in popularity as much as I would have thought, it is gaining legitimacy faster than even my most optimistic predictions.
|
Wow. This is awesome. Never thought I'd see advancements like this while still in my "youth". I guess now that ESPN is picking up "The International" eSports is looking much more legitimate to a lot more people.
|
On July 19 2014 05:17 Psyonic_Reaver wrote:Wow. This is awesome. Never thought I'd see advancements like this while still in my "youth". I guess now that ESPN is picking up " The International" eSports is looking much more legitimate to a lot more people.
thanks for the link but it looks like it'll just be a brief "preview" show on their lesser network.
|
My name is Robert Morris and I approve.
|
|
On July 19 2014 05:33 Terranist wrote:Show nested quote +On July 19 2014 05:17 Psyonic_Reaver wrote:Wow. This is awesome. Never thought I'd see advancements like this while still in my "youth". I guess now that ESPN is picking up " The International" eSports is looking much more legitimate to a lot more people. thanks for the link but it looks like it'll just be a brief "preview" show on their lesser network.
ESPN3 is online and can be watched by anyone if your provider covers it. However, having anything on ESPN2 is huge, even if it's just a preview and an interview.
|
|
|
|
|