Another college to offer scholarships for League of Legends players

It could be because I'm getting old, but academic institutions rewarding students for playing video games still feels like a concept torn straight from Back to the Future. But it's happening: the University of Pikeville in Kentucky will offer 20 scholarships for high level League of Legends players when the semester commences in Autumn.

"It will be a regime a lot like athletics," the college's New Media Director Bruce Parsons told WYMT TV. "They'll have to have a certain GPA (grade point average). We'll look at them like student athletes. There will be practice time and video time when they have to study other teams for upcoming competitions."

The move is part of the mainstream's ongoing embrace of eSports and, in particular, MOBAs. ESPN broadcasted last year's Dota 2 International tournament, which was popular enough for one source to claim that the network intends to "double down" on its eSports coverage.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.