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Employment in entertainment and sports occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2021 to 2031, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, about 106,200 openings each year, on average, are projected to come from growth and replacement needs.
In the summer of 2019, the Hampton University Department of Sports Management announced that it had secured a $340,658 technology grant from the Department of Homeland Security to create an Esports lab, offering courses in esports to students.
With the technology grant, sports management professor David Hughes said he would create an Esports lab on campus and spearhead the curriculum change that will allow Hampton University to offer courses.
In August 2022, Benedict College announced that it was the first historically Black college and university (HBCU) in the nation to launch an esports gaming room and degree track dedicated to all things esports.
Esports or electronic sports is a competition using video games, taking the form of multiplayer video game competitions between players, individually or as teams. The gamers are watched as they play and followed by millions of fans all over the world. Fans attend live events or tune in on TV or online.
Fortnite, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Madden NFL are some of the popular at-home video games for gamers.
In 2023, North Carolina A&T State University announced its first Esports Tournament where participants played NBA 2K. The game helps players create basketball video games with an immersive experience. According to N.C. A&T, the gaming community on campus has hosted esports events since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Tournaments are typically held five to six times a year.
Last week, Morgan State University gave a shoutout to the MSU Bears Esports team for dominating the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Esports tournament and clinching first place. "Special shoutout to their Overwatch squad for an undefeated semester and earning the title of overall gamer," the tweet read.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is made up of eight historically Black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University, and South Carolina State University.