No reason to LoL at LoL: the addition of esports to intercollegiate athletic departments

ABSTRACT

The electronic sports, or eSports, industry has grown into a multi-million dollar industry. The significant growth of eSports can be seen far beyond the participation numbers and spans from eSports’ events being hosted in major arenas and televised on ESPN. Most recently eSports were added to intercollegiate athletic departments. Though eSports has gained a lot of momentum economically and in popularity, academic research and study in the area of eSports is still in its infancy. This paper presents: (1) a brief history of eSports, (2) a further developed definition of eSports, (3) eSports size and market scope, (4) and provides an overview of eSports in intercollegiate athletics to date. The main goals of this paper are to create awareness around the economic growth of eSports and shed light on the potential positive implications of adding eSports to intercollegiate athletic departments. Boosting participation numbers, revenue generation, and creating diversity within an athletic department are all considered in this paper.

KEYWORDS:

• E-sports
• cybersports
• virtual sports
• intercollegiate athletics

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Margaret C. Keiper, Ph.D., teaches within the Entertainment, Sport, and Promotion Management program at Northwood University, Midland, MI.

R. Douglas Manning, Ph.D., teaches within the Department of Economic Development, Tourism, and Sport Management at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS.

Seth E. Jenny, Ph.D., teaches within the Department of Physical Education, Sport and Human Performance at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC.

Tracy W. Olrich, Ph.D. teaches within the Department of Physical Education and Sport at Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI.

Chris Croft, Ed.D., serves as the Director of Operations for the Men’s Basketball program at the University of Southern Mississippi.