CHICAGO (AP) β A small private university in Chicago has become the first in the nation to treat video gamers like athletes.
Thirty-five Robert Morris University students are now practicing in a $100,000 classroom outfitted with an expansive video screen, computers and an array of eye-dazzling gaming paraphernalia.
Their scholarships are for the game League of Legends, where five-person teams control mythical fighters battling in a science fiction-like setting.
Hundreds of other colleges have e-sports clubs but Robert Morris is the first to treat it as a varsity sport. It will compete against the brainpower of Harvard and MIT to reach the League of Legends North American Collegiate Championship.
The school’s assistant athletic director says gamers must have the same lightning reflexes needed on the football field or basketball court.
