The traditional way to access college in the world is through a test that measures a student’s knowledge and/or skills (it varies depending on the country). Exceptionally, there are other ways to attain a college education which is through scholarships or special admissions. The most common scholarship colleges give students are related to sports, which basically consists of attaining a student to be “used” by the institution for its sports objectives in exchange for him or her to study within their faculties.
However, with the increase popularity of e-Sports and the recurring formation of professional teams at a college level, several US colleges/universities have stated that they will offer sports scholarships to students that participate in competitive e-Sports games that wish to go to college with the obligation to participate in their respective college professional e-Sports team. This decision has been an object of criticism within the academic community since the majority does not regard e-Sports as real sports or an activity to be taken seriously. Nonetheless, others refute this statement, saying that e-Sports not only are physically demanding but also emotionally and intellectually challenging, sometimes even more than a regular or traditional sports. Moreover, it’s been regarded that e-Sports are more competitive than even the most traditional Olympic sports.
This non-official conflict between Sports and e-Sports will surely come to an end within the next few years, since it is inevitable that one or the other will become the most attractive and popular sport event.
