Becker offering $5K scholarships for varsity esports team

Photo | Grant Welker Becker College's Spence Hall.

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Becker College in Worcester this fall is launching its newest varsity sport: competitive video gaming.

The program’s inaugural title will be popular video game League of Legends. The program makes Becker the first college in Massachusetts to offer scholarships to varsity esports student athletes.

League of Legends is hailed as the most popular video game in the world, ranking as the most watched game on Amazon’s Twitch with 49.5 million hours. Student athletes will have access to the college’s state-of-the-art equipment, facility and training via Boston-based video game coaching company Gamer Sensei.

Scholarships of up to $5,000 per year will be awarded to student-athletes based on ability, academics, communication skills and playing position, the college said Monday.

The program is a natural progression building on the growth of the college’s esports club with the goal of establishing Becker College as a “championship-driven esports powerhouse,” the college said.

“Collegiate esports is happening, and it makes all the sense in the world for Becker, already a pioneer in game design, to be leading the way in Massachusetts,” said college President Nancy Crimmin. “With a campus community that is passionate about games, adding esports is a natural fit for us.”