Go, Gamers! University students get scholarships to compete in 'varsity eSports'
CHICAGO — The bleeding edge of college sports can be found in a dark room on the third floor of Robert Morris University's downtown campus, where 35 highly skilled competitors practice for four hours a day without breaking a sweat.
They are the members of the nation's first varsity eSports squad, receiving athletic scholarships to play the video game "League of Legends," and on a recent afternoon they were hard at work slaying monsters and minions on liquid-cooled personal computers as coaches hovered nearby, scribbling notes.
The team, in fact, shut out its first opponents on a recent weekend — University of Kentucky, Depaul University, Iowa State and Drexel — opening a season that could end in a national championship. But whatever the result, some say the squad has already left a significant mark on college sports.
"We're making history," Alex Chapman, a 20-year-old from Plymouth, Mich., said after winning an online scrimmage. "It's amazing to be part of this."
The team is the brainchild of associate athletic director Kurt Melcher, who earlier this year was looking for a new sport to offer potential students. Taking note of the exploding popularity of competitive video gaming, he suggested "League of Legends," a computer-based game played by more than 27 million people each day.
School administrators agreed to fund partial athletic scholarships for the team, and when Robert Morris made the announcement in June, Melcher's email exploded.
"The response was tremendous," he said. "We had thousands of inquiries."
"League of Legends" pits players against computer-spawned beasts and human foes as they race to destroy their opponents' base. Strategy is of cardinal importance, and developing the knowledge and skills to become a top player takes months, if not years, of single-minded focus.
The best have a chance to turn professional while they're still teenagers, but Ferris Ganzman, Robert Morris' head coach for the team, said he tries to persuade recruits to put off that decision.
"A very small percentage of players have the opportunity to make it professionally," said Ganzman, who served as a coach and analyst for pro squads before taking the Robert Morris job. "I said they could come here and grow as players.
"The infrastructure we have here rivals professional teams'. We have coaches; we're playing against semipro teams. If people still have the aspiration to go professional, they can still pursue their education while still working on their skills."
One of his biggest catches was Adrian Ma, a 17-year-old from Houston ranked among the best amateurs in North America. He had spent up to 14 hours a day mastering the game, and he was thinking about turning pro when he graduated from high school earlier this year.
After reading about Robert Morris' scholarship program on Reddit, though, he decided to give the college scene a try.
"I thought I could both go to school and play games," he said.
Another top prospect was Derek Micheau, 20, from Olympia, Wash. He said he has enjoyed his experience, though combining practice with school has been tough.
"Before, I didn't have a whole lot of commitments; it was just focusing on becoming a pro athlete," he said. "Now I have school commitments, I have life commitments, I have a bunch of other things I have to do. Putting those together makes it difficult to keep at the level you want to be at."
The team practices in a former classroom that has been transformed into a top-of-the-line gaming arena. The computers and keyboards glow with embedded lights, the players communicate through headsets and one wall is dominated by an enormous video screen. Several coaches wander among the computer pods, listening in as the players shout directions to one another.
"Behind you!"
"Turn, turn, turn!"
"Leave that area! They're all around you!"
Assistant coach Jose Espin spent a few minutes dissecting a scrimmage with one five-member squad. He said that while gamers often don't listen to outside critiques, the college's players are eager for feedback.
"The first couple of days were a little iffy, but now they're really rolling with us and listening to what we have to say," he said. "Everyone here is looking to improve. They want to learn how to be the best, and that's what sets them apart."
Robert Morris will have to defeat dozens of other Midwestern schools to make it to the national championship in Los Angeles next year, and they won't all be pushovers.
"Other (club) teams have been together for a longer period of time, so (Robert Morris) might not be favorites — but they will do well," said Duran Parsi of the Collegiate StarLeague, a gaming group that was to run some of the competitions.
The team's greatest impact, though, could come outside the arena. Trey Sweeney of IvyLOL, another "League of Legends" tournament organizer, said the school's varsity model could boost the viability of college eSports.
"With Robert Morris coming in and establishing a (scholarship-granting) program at a university, it will open the door for other schools to follow that path," he said.
An intriguing side note is the program's straightforward injection of commercialism into a college sport. Corporate sponsors helped pay for the team's gear — their logos adorn the players' team jackets — and some of its members have channels on the streaming website Twitch, which allows gamers to earn money through subscriptions and advertising.
Because eSports operate outside the authority of governing bodies such as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the NCAA, there's nothing to stop college players from getting paid; Ganzman said one team in South Korea, the epicenter of professional "League of Legends," is sponsored by a university and that a similar arrangement could well take root in the U.S. someday.
That likely won't happen anytime soon, but Andy Schwarz, an antitrust economist who specializes in sports, said escalating attacks on the model of unpaid college athletics demonstrate that the system is ripe for an overhaul.
"If (gamers) are getting $50,000 on top of a scholarship and football programs are offering just a $5,000 stipend, I can see an athlete saying, 'That little dweeb over there is getting $50,000? I think I'll go play video games,'" he said.
For now, though, some Robert Morris players say the scholarship program has already given them a good deal — and not just financially.
"Honestly, I'm surrounded by the best group of people I've ever experienced in my life," said Sondra Burrows, 21, who came from Murrieta, Calif. "We all have such great common interests. We all have a great time together, we're always hanging out ... (and) we're in one of the most beautiful cities. What's not to love right now?"
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