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The beginnings of League's first varsity team

RiotJawstheMusical·6/18/2014, 11:54:55 PM·244 votes·105,794 views

For the first time ever, a North American university is officially adding League of Legends to its athletic program and building a varsity team to compete in next year’s North American Collegiate Championship.

This September, Robert Morris University (RMU) is rolling out an official League team, made up of one varsity team and two practice teams, for the 2014-2015 academic year. As members of an official school team, League athletes will receive the same benefits as other RMU athletes, such as coaching, staff support, tutoring, and scholarships.

So, why is RMU making a varsity League team? Well, Kurt Melcher, the university’s Associate Athletic Director, is a gamer at heart who’s played his fair share of competitive PC games. After he learned about League’s collegiate scene and the teamwork involved in competitive play, he realized League shared many of the same attributes as a traditional college sport.

RMU has already started recruiting for its star lineup, so check out their official announcement for more info.

1,525 Comments

Mister Sprinkles6/19/2014, 12:29:51 AM1430 votes

So it's official, playing video games can benefit my education now T.T....HAHA MOM SUCK ON THAT.

Zeuxidamos6/19/2014, 1:15:16 AM107 votes

That's pretty cool. I've had injuries/problems that stopped me from being able to join a sport, so I was just in band, orchestra, jazz band, solo piano classes going to UIL, getting perfect scores in state competitions, but I always wishing to catching the winning touchdown, or the winning home run, or just making the winning plays. But I never can or never will be. And in band, we never got any glory, the football team always got the cheers and the praise. I always wanted to be there and FINALLY have people applauding for me. Yea it might be wishful thinking BUT all I really want is the CHANCE. I know I won't make it to Worlds, but the fact that there is a chance, makes me happy. Thanks for reading, I'm just a person who lost his legs due to a drunk driver at the age of 8. Playing instruments and games is all I can really do. Cheers.

Dethmar6/19/2014, 12:31:21 AM106 votes

As a hardcore gamer I love this but as a someone who has played sports his whole life, I think this is ridiculous.

DoomPool6/19/2014, 4:23:23 AM93 votes

I would like to see the NFL with a patch schedule..

1.01 Due to less points being scored than anticipated we have changed the following:

Field Length: 100yds now reduced to 90yds

Field goal: 3pts Has been increased to 4pts

First Downs: Renewed after 10yds Reduced to 7, also Now get 5 downs was 4

Kick-off: Now grants kicking team a 10% cooldown reduction

insert any name6/19/2014, 12:23:34 AM92 votes

Why didn't they have this when I was in college? I sacrificed too much college for LoL...

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Crimson Flower6/19/2014, 12:19:02 AM87 votes

The Athletic Director is secretly Draven

BirdmanX6/19/2014, 1:56:05 AM51 votes

Asian Exchange students Incoming!!

SwiftStriker006/19/2014, 1:31:57 AM44 votes

I think its great that the school is doing this. Let's just be careful when throwing around the word "athletic" in its program. While its great to be able to represent your school with your particular skill set, it is in no way a replacement for exercise.

Lemîllion6/19/2014, 12:56:36 AM41 votes

Now picture Ahri As a chearleader, Gragas and Alistar as fans and Zilean as that one cool teacher. Now all we need is some Draven

Omnifrost6/19/2014, 1:40:50 AM40 votes

I'm seeing a lot of people saying LoL will never be a sport. They're right, it's not a sport, it's an eSport.

pecs6/19/2014, 12:12:52 AM40 votes

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Dwrcan6/19/2014, 12:12:39 AM22 votes

so, uh, how popular is rmu as a university exactly?