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Parents worried that their kids are playing too many video games might need to rethink their perspective. At least one university plans to offer academic scholarships for e-athletes, people who play competitive video games. The University of California, Irvine, announced Wednesday that it will offer as many as 10 academic scholarships to students on its e-sports team. UC Irvine is launching a major e-sports initiative in the fall, the first of its kind at a public research university. The initiative includes a state-of-the-art arena equipped with high-end gaming PCs, a stage for “League of Legends” competitions and a live webcasting studio, which will be constructed at the UCI Student Center. “League of Legends” is a multiplayer online battle arena and real-time strategy video game produced by Riot Games, now a unit of Tencent Holdings ( TCEHY ). “ UCI eSports will be built on four pillars: competition, academics, entertainment and community,” Thomas Parham, vice chancellor for student affairs, said in a statement. “We hope to attract the best gamers from around the world, and our academic programs in computer gaming science, digital arts, computer science, engineering, anthropology, law, medicine, neuroscience and behavior create a strong foundation for research and inquiry related to gaming.” UCI already is home to a dedicated gaming community. College Magazine ranked UCI the No. 1 school for gamers in 2015. A recent survey of UCI students found that 72% identify as gamers, and 89% support the creation of an e-sports team, the school said. The computer game science major in the Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences is the largest in the country. Los Angeles-based Riot Games has pledged its support for the e-sports initiative and will work with UCI to offer a premium “League of Legends” gaming experience. Custom gaming computer maker iBuyPower is equipping the 3,500-square-foot eSports arena with 80 of its high-end gaming PCs loaded with the most popular video game titles. E-sports is a hot growth area for video game companies. Major game publishers Activision Blizzard ( ATVI ), Electronic Arts ( EA ) and Take-Two Interactive Software ( TTWO ) have launched their own e-sports businesses. RELATED: Everybody Into The Pool! Take-Two Joins Esports Trend . Scalper1 News
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