NEW YORK - ESPN will hold its first ever college championship for competitive video gaming later this year, the TV sports network said on Tuesday, a high-profile esports event aimed at younger fans who spend more time with game controllers than baseball bats or hockey sticks.
The showdown will be held in Houston at Comicpalooza at the George R. Brown Convention Center in May. Players will compete in five games: Overwatch, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, Heroes of the Storm and Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. Schools like the University of Nevada, Las Vegas now offer esports labs and course work, and the University of California at Irvine even has its own esports arena and summer camp.
I think this has a lot of merit. As difficult as it may be to come to terms with, a highly virtualized future awaits. More directly, video gaming has been more popular than physical sports for (*ahem*) _/quite/ a while, now_ with or without much in the way of respect.
As if most institutions of higher learning...didn't already have TOO MANY problems...with TOO MANY funds going to sports? 😤