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College Esports Growing, But Treatment By Athletic Departments Still A Question

Eight teams are competing for the "League of Legends" College Championship throughout the weekend at the North America LCS Arena in Santa Monica, Calif., which is "double the amount of teams included in the first three years of this competition," according to Kieran Darcy of ESPN.com. The growth is "another sign of the growing popularity of esports at both the collegiate and professional level." Robert Morris Univ. was the "first school in the U.S. to offer esports scholarships" in '14. Utah recently announced the "launch of a varsity esports program, becoming the first member of a Power Five conference to have one." Utah has "already begun recruiting players and plans to begin competing" in "LoL" this fall. RMU's esports program is "run by the athletics department" and is listed on the athletics website "right alongside the pages for the baseball, basketball and football teams." Utah is "taking a different approach, running their program through the Entertainment Arts & Engineering department," but will "treat its esports players like the other athletes at the school in many respects." RMU Esports Exec Dir Kurt Melcher estimated that "more than 100 colleges and universities have approached him since his program launched, asking for information and advice, including several Power Five schools." The NCAA also has "not gotten involved," and there are "certainly some complicating factors." Top esports players can "make money via streaming and earn scholarships from third parties like Riot Games, which would clash with amateurism rules." There are also Title IX issues to "take into consideration" (ESPN.com, 5/24).

COLLEGE PLAYSTATION: In Houston, Hunter Atkins noted by beating out 31 schools in a regional this spring, Texas A&M's "LoL" team "won $56,000 toward players' tuitions and advanced" to the championship this weekend. Despite the success of Texas A&M's team, it has "struggled to persuade its school to follow the trend of prioritizing gaming like a traditional sport." By the start of the fall semester, 26 colleges will be "implementing scholarships" for esports teams (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/25).

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