Remember all of those hours you spent “rotting your brain” playing video games? All of the times you tightened your grip on the couch as your parents desperately tried to get you away from the game. Flash forward to today, there are about 175 colleges and universities with esports programs. Yup, you read that right. You can now go to college to play video games. It’s one of those moments when you start to question everything your parents ever told you.
How Much For Your Relic Shield?
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) chose not to go into business with esports. Therefore, college gamers aren’t subject to the association’s rules and regulations. Meaning, gamers can accept cash and other financial benefits from any third party.
Despite the NCAA bailing, other companies like the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) chose to get involved. NACE has worked with over 170 schools and has provided $16 million in scholarships and aid.
Our Take
There are plenty of esports tournaments hosted worldwide and the prizes are hefty. This year the Overwatch League will be giving out a total of $4.5M in prize money.
We dig this. Many people across the world have some sort of connection to video games and now anybody who enjoys this hobby can take it to the professional level.
It just makes us think, if our parents were wrong about video games, what other potential is out there just waiting to be tapped into?
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