Colleges across the country are adopting varsity esports programs, and in places without a school-sanctioned initiative, nearly every university has a gaming club. These teams compete in collegiate esports events through programs like Riot’s College Championship and Blizzard’s TESPA. And most of their players are science, technology, engineering, and math majors.
There is a correlation between schools known for STEM and the size of esports or gaming initiatives. MIT could be the most well-respected engineering program in the country, and it is also home to one of the leading academic voices on esports, professor of comparative media studies T.L. Taylor. Through its Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, the university has sponsored an esports panel for the last seven years.
This summer the University of Oregon’s Warsaw School of Sports Marketing partnered with Turner Sports to offer an Esports 101 course and Syracuse University partnered with Twitch to add an esports curriculum.
“Its something that is unique compared to traditional athletics, how much we over index in the STEM field,” said Michael Sherman, Riot Games’ director of collegiate esports. “Although we don’t think there is one type of student that makes up top League of Legends talent, 62% of our participants are from STEM majors.”
That compares that to a national average of 36% of undergraduates who are in STEM, according the to National Science Foundation. But why do STEM majors flock to esports more than other areas of study?
Mason Mullenioux, CEO of the High School Esports League (HSEL), believes STEM majors connect on a deeper level than simply an interest in computer science. Succeeding in esports could be viewed like a science or math problem.
“The way games are set up, figuring them out, playing through them, and then beating them; the goal-orientation of esports [connects with STEM majors,]” Mullenioux said.
Ian “MistyStumpey” Alexander is a League of Legends top laner who competes for Columbia College, and one of the best LoL’s players in North America. He is a computer science major and the captain of his Cougars team.
Alexander only finished a couple games away from being invited to Riot’s Scouting Grounds last season, and turning esports into a career could be a real possibility. Born with only one arm, the challenge to compete in traditional sports would have been significantly different.
“I originally wanted to finish my CIS degree and go work for standard companies like Google or Microsoft,” Alexander said. “Now that I’ve been exposed to esports through the college scene, I might hold off on finishing school to look at going pro.”
He originally saw esports as a way to subsidize his education but as his skill increased, doors opened up. Most students won’t reach the League Championship Series (LCS) but collegiate esports can still help make college more affordable, with players earning money through streaming. “I can study what I want to in game design and computer science because of League of Legends help financially,” Alexander said.
Sherman wants schools and parents to know that video games aren’t replacing education, and in many cases, they can bolster it. “Our goal is to build platforms that help support student growth holistically,” he said. “We want parents to know that there is a path behind video games.”
For Riot, those educational opportunities begin in high school with initiatives like the HSEL and Super League Gaming. The company can’t easily work in middle schools, because LoL has an ESRB rating of “Teen.” But that hasn’t stopped kids themselves from playing the game and there are programs that help children between the ages of 10-13 get introduced to the esports business.
One such program is taught by Charles Spencer at Advantage Higher Education in Brooklyn. Spencer keeps his lessons broad and helps make connections to many areas of study through esports, not just STEM. “We focus on things like communication, decision making and coordination,” Spencer said.
“For the creative kids, there are opportunities with drawing and graphic design. It’s also a good way to teach business practices and entrepreneurship,” he continued. “Our goal is just to have fun in gaming and also show that you can make a career out of it.”