It has finally happened. At Robert Morris University, a college in Illinois, the computer game League of Legends is now considered a varsity athletic sport and scholarships are being offered to exceptional competitive players, something they trumpet on their home page.
The fact that it’s considered varsity is important; that means students recruited to play the game for the university are considered athletes, complete with the benefits and considerations that entails, including tutors, financial aid of up to 50 percent off tuition and room and board, leave from class for tournaments, and so on. The college will be recruiting three teams of nine players each.
There are other teams at other universities who play against each other in an unofficial league known as the Collegiate Star League, but this is the first time the game has been officially sanctioned and its players formally considered athletes.
Yes, that is a computer gaming competition.
On its face it sounds ridiculous, but “e-sports” as they are called are actually a huge business, with competitive matches drawing thousands of spectators and tens of thousands more online, complete with commentators and analysts. Professional computer and video-game players have been around for a long time, and in recent years it has become very well organized, and more importantly, lucrative.
I personally don’t follow any sport except when the Oilers are playing, and I’m not much of a gamer, so I make no comment as to the legitimacy or validity of the offering. But with the video game industry being one of the most influential in tech and pop culture, bringing in $20 billion a year in revenue (and that was in 2008!), then why not? if golf can be a sport, why not electronic games? Indeed, this may help push it even further into the mainstream, and help schools that host similar teams to consider them the same.
IS 301 at Nevada State College 
I have to be honest I had no idea what League of Legends was until I Googled it. Apparently it is a massive multiply online game that has been gaining popularity for years. Let me begin by saying I do not play video games or sports. I hate watching sports-with the exception of the World Cup- and think it’s a giant waste of time.
In the case of League of Legends, I think it is a great idea. A new industry study from Spil Games reports that 1.2 billion people are now playing video games worldwide, with 700 million of those online. The study also proves and interesting point that woman are a big part of the gaming community with 46% of gamers being female. The most interesting part of the gamer community is how many foreigners play. Online gaming isn’t just an American thing. Players from all over the world can be found playing League of Legends.
Should online players be considered athletes and receive scholarships? I say yes. Technology is taking over our lives and we cannot live without it. The players are investing hours into the game just as a traditional athlete would invest in sports. This game requires thinking and decision making and gives the players thousands of ways to customize making the game extremely challenging. The only issue here is how these dedicated players will look on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
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