17 colleges with varsity esports programs
The rise of collegiate gaming
1. Columbia College — Columbia, MO
In September of 2014 Columbia College President Dr. Scott Dalrymple found himself in the national spotlight after offering free textbooks for a year to any student that could beat him in Madden NFL.
He lost and ended up making good on his promise. It did speak volumes though regarding the attention that esports was getting and offered some legitimacy for their push into the college market.
“eSports aren’t the future, they’re the present. True skill at video gaming is just as impressive — and just as legitimate — as excellence in traditional sports.” — Columbia College President Dr. Scott Dalrymple
“The eSports program at Columbia College will be innovative, well-funded, and student centric,” — eSports Director Bryan Curtis.
League: Collegiate Star League
Scholarship offered: Yes
Twitter: @Cougar_eSports
Twitch: ccisesports
2. Robert Morris University- Chicago, IL
Robert Morris University in Chicago was the first school to make esports a part of the varsity athletics program.
League: Collegiate Star League
Scholarship offered: Yes
Twitter: @RMUeSports
Facebook: @rmuiesports
3. University of Pikeville — Pikeville, KY
UPIKE was the second school to make esports a part of the varsity athletics program.
“In our research and interaction with gamers at this level, we learned that they are extremely competitive, but also hard workers, valuable team members and quite often have a high level of aptitude in using technology, in addition to being good gamers, they will be good students and will bring an exciting new dynamic to our campus.” — UPIKE President Dr. James L. Hurley
“We want to teach our students to use new technology like it is second nature and be able to translate what makes a good League of Legends player into a good student. Our students will be involved in emerging global trends while offering great technology opportunities right here at home.”
League: Collegiate Star League
Twitter: @UPIKE_ESPORTS
4. Maryville University — Town and Country, MO
Maryville ends its C-Star League Division 1 season with a 40–0 record, winning the League of Legends National Championship.
“I’m really excited to get this going and bring Maryville to the forefront of collegiate eSports. ESports is the biggest thing that nobody knows about. To put it in perspective, the League of Legends World Championship last year was viewed by more people than every sporting event except the Super Bowl, and that includes the World Cup.” — Director of eSports, Daniel Clerke
5. Southwestern College — Winfield, KS
Southwestern offers two paths to playing esports for the college:
- The first path to playing esports for SC is as an esports grant recipient. These annual renewable grants of up to $5,000 provide for membership as a “participant” or as a “competitor.”
- The second path to playing esports at Southwestern is as a general participant. This path is for students who may wish to accept some other activity grant at Southwestern.
“eSports at Southwestern provides an arena in which students can enjoy playing video games in competition with each other, and with students from other colleges. The sport has grown rapidly in the past few years to include teams from schools and colleges in the USA and from around the world.”
6. University of California, Irvine — Irvine, CA
The University of California took big steps towards bringing esports to the forefront of conversation on college campuses with their massive push into the space this past fall with the launch of their brand new esports arena. A state-of-the-art space equipped with high-end gaming PCs, a stage for League of Legends competitions, and a live webcasting studio, the first of its kind at a public research university.
“UCI eSports will recruit the best gamers from around the world and offer them scholarships to compete for ‘Eater Nation. The coaching and eSports staff will redefine what it means to be an elite gamer by instilling the values of appreciation for diversity, healthy living, academic success and life balance.”
7. Tiffin University — Tiffin, OH
This small school in Ohio just recently launched their esports program.
“As the demand for eSports programs increase, Tiffin University is preparing to launch this cutting edge eSports collegiate program by fall semester 2017,” said TU President Dr. Lillian Schumacher
League: uLoL
Scholarship offered: Yes
8. Midland University — Fremont, NE
Midland University in Nebraska began competing in eSports starting the fall of 2016, it became their 28th varsity sport.
League: Collegiate Star League
Scholarship offered: Yes
9. Southwest Baptist University — Bolivar, MO
Southwest Baptist University’s League of Legends Bearcats earned a playoff berth in their first inaugural season.
“Gamers have existed for decades on college campuses, competing online and against each other in the solitude of their dorm rooms,” said Allison, who will serve as SBU’s eSports head coach. “This new program will not only give us the opportunity to highlight the skills of our players, compete intercollegiately and create on-campus community, but it presents us with the opportunity to offer scholarships to high-level players and provide them with an equally high-level education.”
League: Collegiate Star League
Scholarship offered: Yes
10. Indiana Tech — Fort Wayne, IN
Indiana Tech eSports started off as a club sport during the 2015–16 academic school year. Proving itself successful and becoming a varsity sports in which they know offer scholarships to attend Indiana Tech and play games competitively.
League: Collegiate Star League
Scholarship offered: Yes
Twitter: @IndTech_eSports
Facebook: @IndianaTechEsports
Twitch: indianatech_esports
12. Keuka College — Keuka Park, NY
This Division III school in Upstate New York started competing in eSports in early 2016. In a press release from the school they stated…
“…they won’t be playing on the new turf field or inside the gym. Instead, they’ll use the College’s new $2 million network infrastructure and 10GBps data backbone to compete in the virtual world of “League of Legends,””
League: uLoL
Scholarship offered: Yes
13. Lourdes University — Sylvania, OH
This private liberal arts school in northwest Ohio just recently added eSports to their varsity lineup. Lourdes University President Mary Ann Gawelek has been advocating for the program since she took office at the school last July.
“In order to participate in eSports you have to have the mental ability and critical thinking skills to do game-playing in general, you have to have developed the ability to function on a team, and you have to have a competitive nature that drives you toward success… It links well with a liberal arts education.” — Mary Ann Gawelek
League: Collegiate Star League
Scholarship offered: Yes
14. Trine University — Angola, IN
Another recent addition to this list is Trine University which just launched their eSports program at the start of the fall 2017 semester.
“ESports puts an exciting, innovative and unique spin on competition that will allow us to address the new interests of our students. Our eSports competitors will be supported with a brand new state-of-the-art facility that will be housed in the MTI Center upon completion.” — Matt Land, assistant vice president for athletics.
League: Collegiate Star League
Scholarship offered: Yes
Twitter: @TrineESPORTS
15. Lees-McRae College — Banner Elk, NC
This private four year school in North Carolina is one the latest to offer eSports scholarships. The process of applying is quite simple as well, a few questions from a form located directly on the eSports page on the schools website.
League: uLoL
Scholarship offered: Yes
16. University of Jamestown- Jamestown, ND
The University of Jamestown eSports program is a member of the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NAC). They kicked off their first season of competitive play at the start of the fall 2017 semester. The team is led by Chris Hoke, Director of eSports, and Josh Knutson, the teams Head Coach.
“We are very excited about the great opportunity we have here at UJ to start a competitive collegiate eSports program. The NAC’s goal is to legitimize eSports at the collegiate level, and our goal is to do exactly that by building a program that is respected and held to the same standards as any other program here at UJ. It’s kind of like wading into uncharted waters, but I think that’s part of why it’s so exciting.” — Josh Knutson, Head Coach.
League: National Association of Collegiate eSports (NAC)
Scholarship offered: Yes
17. Kansas Wesleyan University- Salina, KS
KWU is also a member of the National Association of Collegiate eSports, competing in the Collegiate Star League. Their eSports team was formed during the fall of 2015, making it one of the few on this lists that has been around for over a year or two.
One of the bigger programs on the list, they have all the amenities to attract top talent from around the country. According to the teams website they have their…
“own room, equipped with state of the art PCs and gaming amenities. The eSports room provides the optimal atmosphere for any gamer to take their game to the next level.”
