G.U. Offers Scholarships for Competitive Esports

Published: April 13, 2021

Greenville University recently announced the availability of scholarships for qualifying students who participate in its competitive online gaming teams or game streaming corps. Scholarships of $500-$3,000 may be awarded based on need, skill, versatility and gaming sportsmanship attitude.

Greenville University added competitive esports teams to its existing gaming club last year, giving students access to this young but rapidly-growing arena of collegiate competition.

In 2014, there were a total of 95 esports teams in the nation. Currently, there are over 1,200. Four hundred seventy-five of them are colleges and universities, says the Universitys Esports Coordinator B.J. Fink of the sports growing popularity. He notes that few schools in G.U.s region offer competitive esports at this time. He looks forward to recruiting for the team via online gaming events and regular recruiting activities as an admissions counselor for G.U.

As this new arena for collegiate-level competition expands, Engadget.com reports that Esports generated $756 million in revenue in 2017, mostly through sponsorships and ads, and that number is expected to hit $1 billion this year.

G.U.s esports teams currently focus on games such as Overwatch, League of Legends, Fortniteand Hearthstone. Fink intends to grow the game list and welcomes students to demonstrate their interests in specific games by putting together a team of potential players and submitting requests.

G.U. offers a fully outfitted gaming studio for competitors, and a G.U. streaming corps now has a presence on popular game streaming site Twitch.

In addition, a student run gaming club at Greenville University allows for more casual involvement in gaming culture on campus. The club hosts one tournament event per month and kicked off the year with Septembers Super Smash Brothers tournament.

Find the Greenville University esports program on Twitch, on Twitter at @GUGamingClub or on Facebook under Greenville University Esports.

For more information, contact bj.fink@greenville.edu.