Majoring in esports, entering careers…
By: Nataliia Korobchenko
Tags: Majors, Esports Business, Esport

Education in esports is now a thing

Do you remember how school-based esports tournaments were almost an underground movement, and kids had to receive a special permission from their parents to participate in such events? Back in those days it was almost unthought of to organize these tournaments in school premises. It was an antithesis to education and an “insult” to common sense. Thanks to the courage of the few, boomer stereotypes of playing video games and other inadequate projections didn’t stop what later became known as the esports industry.

The industry made its baby steps in school gymnasiums and grew into a worldwide phenomenon, a gigantic industry that grows exponentially. School competitions have turned into championships with teams ravenously competing against each other while being cheered on by overcrowded arenas. These events rivaled its traditional sports counterparts. And while there’s no totally convincing data that can fully explain how sports viewers would cross over to become an esports fans and vice versa prior to the pandemic, after 2019 the situation started to change heavily in favor of esports. Now sports viewers are crossing over en masse. Not only that, they become esports bettors, now that opportunities to bet in traditional sports are fewer, than prior to the pandemic.

This gigantic leap forward seemed to have left the schools behind… The hub where everything started all of a sudden became not as important. We have talked about ways how industry can solve the problem of amateur tournaments being disconnected from the main body of professional esports. There is a belief that focusing on education and becoming a professional esports athlete don’t go together. The premise of this argument was challenged here. But another way to bury it once and for all comes with new initiatives of organizing student programs in esports.

That’s right. Student programs. Esports can be a degree.

Professional gaming is becoming a career choice, and colleges include it in their curriculums. The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), an association of Varsity esports programs in the U.S., now encomposes more than 170 member schools that offer programs in esports. One of the reasons the initiative exists is Covid-19 and its effects on social mobility, but the intent of those who start these programs goes beyond this reasoning alone (more on that later). To remedy the situation colleges and universities become interested in competitive gaming between their campuses.

Another point of curiosity is how colleges cooperate with the developers of famous esports IPs like Overwatch and how this cooperation helps the esports scene in college life. Developers open departments that oversee projects that involve colleges. Something Riot Games did, launching their Riot Scholastic Association of America (RSAA) for League of Legends. Within the scope of the program they distributed over $4 million dollars in player scholarships. This is how college became a platform for some students to make their way into the League of Legends’ professional scene.

And it is with ease does Riot Games find the best players. LOL’s form of scouting is the easiest of all, as they have the list of the best players right in their database. So there’s no need to watch hundreds of hours of twitch content to find the player who could be useful for your team. The same cannot be said of other games, however the scouting business is on the rise. And now companies, which used to sponsor famous teams, start to sponsor scouting of new talents for the old and very often for the fresh new teams. This is where we see how these new college programs get their day in court. The business is out for new talents, and they’re willing to get those talents using all means at their disposal, including varsity esports programs that now cover way more than a gaming side of esports.

“Esports is getting bigger and requires professionals to boost the growth. Esports needs all types of professionals from athletes to engineers and marketing specialists. At 27 Nerds we know how important industry understanding is to build esports products and applications. To support esports growth and development all ecosystems need to be adapted and provide training, education and certification programs. Esports athlete education at colleges creates a pipeline of athletes for amateur, semi-professional and professional teams. Gives ability to create new amateur tournaments and leagues to drive fan engagement and support local teams and players’’, — mentioned our COO Yevgen Vershynin, and he is definetely right.

In late 2014 Robert Morris University became the first school in America to announce a varsity esports program. Among the schools like University of California (Irvine and Berkley), there are many other schools that did that after the fact. These programs vary and bring in even more opportunities for students than before. West Virginia University now offers a 15-credit minor in esports. Nine credits will be cut out to be given as a groundwork in the endeavors like history and ethics, as well as legal, regulatory and cultural issues. The business of esports, finance, and marketing promotion will be available, too, as well as venue & event management, and classes and social communications. This is how far deep into the esports business these programs go. And here we go from high-school gymnasiums to varsity programs that teach the business of esports.