We usually work to limit our kids' screen time, but what if that time spent on video games could actually earn your teen a college scholarship?
It's true: geeks (or are they nerds?) can get sports scholarships, too. Or in this case, esports.
Esports is live video game competitions. According to ESPN, varsity collegiate esports began in 2014 when Robert Morris University announced a scholarship-sponsored League of Legends team.
Today, there is a national governing body called the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and 98 varsity programs across the U.S. and Canada, according to a Nov. 2018 article in The New York Times, which added that NACE's executive director said the organization had helped to facilitate $16 million in scholarships the previous two years.
And according to a story in The Washington Post's "On Parenting" section, there's even talk of adding esports as a "demonstration sport" in the 2024 Olympics.
There's also a pro circuit, where players compete in front of hundreds or thousands of fans. The Washington Post article says pro games are broadcast on video channels, including YouTube Gaming and Twitch, and even televised on ESPN and DisneyXD.
Professional gamers can compete for multi-million dollar prizes, and the Washington Post article said conservative estimates project the global esports market to be a $1.5 billion industry by 2020.