Ohio's Ashland University announces $4,000 eSports scholarship

[Polycount]

10 years ago, the concept of playing video games for a living may have seemed a bit ridiculous. Now, however, eSports are bigger than ever. Gamers across the world have joined teams to duke it out in games like Fortnite, Overwatch, League of Legends and even Hearthstone.

They take part in large competitions with massive prize pools and thousands of audience members, all while earning sponsorships from popular global brands. If all of that wasn't surreal enough, Ohio's Ashland University is taking things a step further.

In an announcement on Wednesday, the school detailed their plans to offer "up to $4,000" in scholarships to students with a high "player skill level" in Fortnite and the appropriate academic requirements.

"Fortnite appeals to both the core and casual gaming audience," Ashland University head coach Josh Buchanan said in a statement. "We're excited to provide this platform for gamers who want to showcase their skills in a more competitive space. Fortnite facilitates an environment that allows players to get creative, innovate and show off their mastery of their skills."

In addition to offering these scholarships, Buchanan plans to conduct open tryouts for the university's eSports team next school year in anticipation of a future Fortnite collegiate league. By assembling and training several cohesive four-player teams now, Buchanan hopes Ashland University will be ahead of the curve for any official upcoming competitions.

Ashland University isn't stopping there, though. They also plan to begin construction of a "gaming center" in the lower level of the university's library next month. The gaming center will apparently include "25 gaming stations" with gaming PCs, accessories and chairs provided by the school and the team's sponsors.

If you're a gamer who happens to attend Ashland University, you can apply to join the school's "Ashland Eagles" eSports team right here.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/74258-ohio-ashland-university-announces-4000-esports-scholarship.html

 

[EClyde]

Oh Yea baby...just what the kids need

 

[psycros]

College once again proving its main mission is make our kids dumber, more drugged up and less able to function in society.

 

[Hexic]

College once again proving its main mission is make our kids dumber, more drugged up and less able to function in society.

Quite to the contrary - if the kids these days can uphold a steady GPA and still put forth the effort and time into a feat such as this, it's achieving something that conventional sports always has - a balance of work and play. There's no difference between this mentality and playing a collegiate sport in terms of skill, albeit different skill-sets being involved.

If anyone disagrees with this stance, I fully encourage them to actually partake in research on the e-sports profession and the mental capabilities that it takes before referencing the old-boys "we're gonna physically sports harder than that other team".

 

[Uncle Al]

Great ...... We always complain about the demise of the American education, now we are encouraging it!

 

[Vulcanproject]

Many college applicants will have a higher weight in pounds than their SAT score at this rate

 

[psycros]

College once again proving its main mission is make our kids dumber, more drugged up and less able to function in society.

Quite to the contrary - if the kids these days can uphold a steady GPA and still put forth the effort and time into a feat such as this, it's achieving something that conventional sports always has - a balance of work and play. There's no difference between this mentality and playing a collegiate sport in terms of skill, albeit different skill-sets being involved.

If anyone disagrees with this stance, I fully encourage them to actually partake in research on the e-sports profession and the mental capabilities that it takes before referencing the old-boys "we're gonna physically sports harder than that other team".

LOL, seriously? The "mental capabilities"..is that with or without Adderal?

 

[Hexic]

LOL, seriously? The "mental capabilities"..is that with or without Adderal?

Referencing my quoted post, it would be an excellent idea to perform some research on what the actual competitive scene is these days for Esports.

Example: A college kid playing Esports on Adderall, poses the same consequences as a college athlete juicing before a game. They are both disallowed, and can get you removed from the event itself, if not barred permanently. I'm not quite sure what the logic behind your statements here are, other than to fire up the "All millennials are trash" bandwagon, which seems to be pretty full right now.

Knowing more about the topic at hand infinitely helps the global understanding when making comparisons.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Its just a University investing early in another potential revenue stream. Collegiate sports are just a way to grab students at lower divisions, and money for the school in the higher divisions. Collegiate eSports won't be any different.

Ashland is hoping that by starting early, they'll attract the more dedicated gamers early, and have a "division 1" eSports team ready to go by the time colleges around the nation are ready to form a league - and can grab the more lucrative sponsorships.

 

[iamcts]

The people who believe eSports can't be a sport are the same people who think golfing is a sport.

While you sit in your rockers complaining, these kids will be setting themselves up for life with the amount of money they're rolling in.

 

[Jeff Re]

The people who believe eSports can't be a sport are the same people who think golfing is a sport.

You've already been proven wrong because I don't think either one of those things is a sport and I know multiple people who feel the same.

 

[wiyosaya]

In this day and age, $4,000 towards college is not much. After getting a degree in a game development program, my nephew is $100,000 in debt.