ATHENS, WV (WOAY) – While football and basketball are usually the popular sports talked about at college, esports has been gaining traction in recent years.
And at Concord University students have been on their A-Game winning national tournaments for popular video games like Call of Duty.
The college has a dedicated esports team and just recently started a new esports management program called the interdisciplinary esports major.
Austin Clay is the university’s esports director for both the academic and competitive side. He says they want to create a welcoming environment that can let players thrive.
“Our goal is to make all of our teams highly competitive but at the same time have a welcoming community,” Clay said.
And that welcoming environment has recently led their Call of Duty team to win a major tournament not long ago.
“Our Call of Duty Team just won third in the CCL, which makes us the best public school in North America for Call of Duty.”
Their esports teams don’t only focus on Call of Duty. They have players skilled in Rocket League and other competitive online games. And they’re even looking to expand further into other games like Super Smash Bros.
In the new major, students can learn aspects of business and marketing, while also approaching the concepts of graphic design and management while focusing on the esports field. It’s similar to traditional sports management programs that are available at many colleges nationwide.
Concord also has upcoming opportunities for scholarships in the esports field for local high schoolers. During the fall semester they’ll have tournaments where students can win scholarships up to $1,000.
