No Reason To LoL at LoL: The Addition of Esports To Intercollegiate Athletic Departments
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-19-2017
School
Marketing
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.
Publication Title
Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes In Education
Volume
11
Issue
2
First Page
143
Last Page
160
Recommended Citation
Keiper, M. C.,
Manning, R.,
Jenny, S.,
Olrich, T.,
Croft, C.
(2017). No Reason To LoL at LoL: The Addition of Esports To Intercollegiate Athletic Departments. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes In Education, 11(2), 143-160.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/21534