League of Legends gets its first Varsity team
The phenomenon of League of Legends just keeps on growing as Robert Morris University (RMU) announces the inclusion of League of Legends into their athletic program.
Although scholarships for competitive online video games have existed in the past, the RMU announcement is the first of its kind in the United States to offer a scholarship of the same scale as its professional athletes. Qualified students will receive 50% off tuition fees and 50% off accommodation with the scholarship.
The university states that it "recognizes the value and legitimacy of eSports and is excited to add eSports to its already rich athletic program".
RMU's associate athletic director Kurt Melcher states "Robert Morris University has always been at the forefront of providing opportunities for a diverse student population with different interests and skills. League of Legends is a competitive, challenging game which requires significant amount of teamwork to be successful."
He also told the popular video game website Polygon: "The sports culture at RMU is unique" and "We have all the major sports: our football team, we have a basketball team, soccer teams. But then we also have color guard, we have choir, performing arts all under the athletic umbrella. We also have a painting guild that students can receive scholarships for."
Melcher also stated that he was a gamer at heart and that "League of Legends just made sense. I don't think anyone thought anything disparaging about adding eSports and eSports athletes to our lineup."
The university states that it is recruiting students to participate in the Collegiate Star League and hopes to qualify for the North American Collegiate Championships organized by Riot, which has a prizepool of $100,000 up for grabs.
