Robert Morris University has opened up their athletic scholarships to include video gamers. The scholarships, which will go to thirty students, will pay up to $19,000 for college expenses. Evidently, Morris is not the first to open up their sports program to include online gaming. According to an article on CBS.com, some fifty colleges around the country have added varsity gaming squads to their athletic programs. Even the NCAA is wondering if it should engage, after giving the issue wide berth initially.

As a mother, I cannot tell you how horrified this makes me. Young men in this country are spending three to four hours per week engaged in online video gaming of some sort. As someone who dealt with a close loved one who escaped into the World of Warcraft after losing a close relative unexpectedly- I am here to tell you that it can be alienating to the extreme. Now, it is on the rise across the country’s colleges. There is even a trade association who has been helping this spread across the country.  The National Association of Collegiate eSport is a group that exists solely to champion collegiate eSports nationwide. Evidently, they are quite convincing as more and more schools are contacting them to become members.