Athletic scholarships for college athletes are not a new thing. Dating back at least a hundred years and available in countries all over the world, these are a widely accepted part of academia. Today, the growing landscape of eSports has thrown its hat into the world of college scholarships, and it’s a development we can’t help but root for.
Leveling the Playing Field
Despite being such an established part of college life, athletic scholarships have their fair share of critics. The general idea is that it’s not inherently fair to aid somebody in winning the genetic lottery, making the entire concept a kind of an oxymoron. There are problems in how the athletes are treated too; pressure and unfair compensation are common complaints according to outsidonline.com. If eSports are introduced into this arena, however, a far wider range of people can compete. Unlike physical sports, eSports don’t place an enormous emphasis on inbuilt ability. While genetics certainly play a part, the less physically demanding the games are, the more inclusive they are. Getting good at a video game relies primarily on hard work, and with such low barriers to entry, proponents argue that its inclusion is natural and fair.
Adapting to a New Age
The number of people who can freely engage with eSports is greater than it will ever be with traditional sports. With eSports, players with a computer or console and an internet connection have practically everything they need to practice and compete. Man or woman, tall or short, video games have reached everyone, and they’re slowly taking over the cultural conversation about entertainment. As noted by BBC.com back in 2019, video games are now bigger than music and video combined. Far from small arcades and niche consoles, the new market is astounding in scope, offering some of the most well-known and valuable experiences that media has ever produced. In fact, the single most profitable piece of media of all time is GTA5, which brought in nearly $8 billion in revenue. Esports reflects this popularity, they are now featured in major media outlets and draw in millions of fans. Websites like WIN.gg base their livelihoods on eSports games, reporting on big hits
like CSGO, Dota 2, and Valorant. This success similarly extends to viewership, with the big tournaments bringing in millions of viewers.
The State of Affairs
Still on an upward trajectory, there’s no telling when the popularity of eSports will plateau. As prizes for the biggest winners exceed many traditional tournaments like Wimbledon, as Engadget.com covered, the place of electronic sports in the future of competition is assured. Considering this combination of factors, the move to include eSports in the world of athletic scholarships is entirely natural. It evens up opportunities for more people, leverages a place in an enormous market, and looks forward to what will only become a bigger part of the future of entertainment. Whether or not you enjoy video games, eSports aren’t going anywhere, and any colleges that fail to adapt will only end up kicking themselves over a lack of foresight.
