{"id":22844,"date":"2015-12-16T08:03:07","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T14:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=22844"},"modified":"2015-12-10T16:09:43","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T22:09:43","slug":"esports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/esports\/","title":{"rendered":"A “League” of their own: RMU uses old blueprint to pioneer college esports"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nick Zazulia<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cVideo games aren\u2019t a sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

That has been a common refrain heard during the rise of esports. ESPN President John Skipper even famously declared it<\/a> last year \u2026 seven months before his network began broadcasting tournaments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And rise they have, to the point that the 2014 League of Legends Championship in Seoul, South Korea, had more viewers worldwide, at 27 million<\/a>, than any sporting event of the year except the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

They have risen to the point that Robert Morris University, which in 2014 became the first college with an esports program under its athletic department, is now one of at least five<\/a> that exists or has been announced.<\/p>\n

Maybe it doesn\u2019t matter if people call gamers athletes.<\/p>\n

Because semantics aside, RMU\u2019s esports program in its nascent stage looks an awful lot like any traditional athletic program. Rigorous practices, intense pep talks, pregame strategy sessions and postgame celebrations are all commonplace.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n