SNHU or Southern New Hampshire University announced on Tuesday that the campus will be launching the first eSports program this fall.
eSports has become increasingly popular in colleges across the country. Other colleges with eSports programs include University of California Irvine, Robert Morris University, and Columbia College. SNHU joins a short list of campuses throughout New England that offers the program.
eSports are multiplayer video game competitions that are played throughout the world. It has been a growing phenomenon for years and now you can compete in actual leagues and tournaments and makes some serious cash doing so. eSports have been around since the 1990s and have grown considerably into a global market with cash prizes ranging in the millions. Some notable tournaments are the Street Fighter Capcom Cup and The Call of Duty World League with the most famous tournament being the Madden Bowl.
In October of 2017, the International Olympic Committee acknowledged the growth of eSports and concluded that it could be considered a sporting activity and thus be included in the Olympic games. However, there are some challenges as to what games could be involved in the competition as they would have to restrict games that are considered violent and there is also no global sanctioning body for eSports.
As SNHU becomes the latest college to launch an eSports program, one has to think if more campuses will follow suit. The ones that offer these programs offer scholarships along with them making what was once a pipe dream, a dream come true for gamers.
The fact that gaming has become a profession, it does make sense that colleges would offer programs for those who excel at video games just like those who excel at football, basketball or baseball.
As an avid gamer myself, I think this is an exciting time for gamers and I believe that eSports can open the door for more and more kids to be able to go to college.
Are you an avid gamer? Do you compete in leagues? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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