More than a Game
POV of: Aaron Paxton Arnold
The future of gaming at HBCUs is bright with Benedict College leading the way as the first HBCU to offer a degree in E- Sports. Other HBCUs will follow this trend sooner than later. But how did we even get here?
Back In The Days
Gaming has always been part of my life since the days of Atari, Nintendo and Sega. However, I can always remember my Dad telling me to get off the game, before I ruined my brain cells. Plus, it’s not like I could major in playing Mario Brothers, Tecmo Bowl or Street Fighter in high school or College. Ironically, a recent report acknowledged that playing video games may have cognitive benefits to kids - remind me to never share this with my 12 year old son, lol.
Fast forward to college in the mid 90s to 2000, (video) gaming was everywhere. Mostly for recreation, but there were several students that I knew on my HBCU campus and other campuses who paid their tuition via competitive madden and NBA 2k tournaments. Basically, they gambled on their skills and made money. But who would’ve thought that 15 years later this would be a viable and legitimate way of earning a living?
Gaming To The Big Screen
The first realization that this was going to be legit for anybody who owned gaming controllers and had a passion for video games was when TBS, a Turner Network TV Station, made the investment and decision to start broadcasting an E-League of Champions at midnight on the weekends. Gamers could win thousands of dollars or even millions in some cases. Lets not forget online platforms like Twitch morphed into one of the largest streaming entities, largely due to it being one of the first hubs for gamers globally.
HBCUs Trending!
According to DigitalTrends.com the collegiate esports space is growing with support from schools themselves and outside organizations like the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), which offers membership to more than 170 colleges and universities that have their own esports leagues.
Colleges and Universities across the United States are launching esports programs at an increasing rate including Benedict College, the first HBCU to do so. But will other HBCUs continue this trend? The answer is yes. Surprisingly, it’s not Science Technology Engineering & Math (STEM) that’s the driver at Benedict, it's student-run gaming clubs and their new Sports Management Major. At other HBCUs like Florida A&M, my alma-mater, there are already student-run clubs for gaming, which as one student told me “provides a lot of different options and gives students a competitive edge, when it comes to finding or creating a job.”
So next time you see your son, daughter, friend, boyfriend or girlfriend playing video games all day…be nice to them, because they might just be the next super star athlete.