A Texas University is Offering Scholarships for Playing Video Games

With all of the discussion on social media regarding the amount of screen time kids spend on gaming, there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. It turns out all that time they’ve spent gaming might earn them a scholarship! Concordia University Texas has recently announced it will be offering thousands of dollars in video gaming scholarships as part of their upcoming esports program.

Joining over 100 post-secondary programs throughout North America, Concordia’s Austin campus is accepting video games as a potential career field for its enrollment. Based on esports and their ability to be accepted into the program, in total, the university will offer 10 scholarships, with a value of up to $18,000. Similarly, the school will be sponsoring teams in upcoming gaming competitions. Marc Valdoria, the Concordia program’s coach, said that those on the esports team will be viewed as student-athletes. As such, they will be expected to meet accountability requirements, as any other athlete would.

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“It takes a lot of game experience and knowledge,” explained Valdoria to KVUE.com. “And like in sports, you have to do repetitive things to get better. It’s the same with gaming. If you want to be one of the best, you have to keep practicing,” Concordia student Cameron Hoffman told KVUE.com, “It’s starting to become more of a competitive scene,” Cameron Hoffman, a Concordia student, noted. “We see more and more people making a living out of playing video games.” Concordia’s sponsorship of teams for both Overwatch and League of Legends is a step in that direction, and enrollment will reflect their ability to continue to compete in the field. It’s a step in a new direction for the Texas Hill Country campus; one that will broaden the horizons of many a Lone Star State student leaning toward a high-tech future.